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PROPERTY. OF L. Ss. SMITE 


0.711.40973 RETURN TO R. 218 ENGR'G BLES. 


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PROPERTY OF L. S. SMIT?t 
RETURN TO R. 215 ENGR'G BLDG. 


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PROPOSED TREAT Tt 
MEMPHIS RIVER FRONT & 
| T H E, I S LAN D HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW  Consutrast. 


aE eats PLAN NING COMMISSION a 1924 | ae | bE O* Mi PES = AND ages ecl llekON ASSOCIATES 


WD HUDSON ENGINEER. 


Plate No. 1. Memphis has exceptional opportunity for development of the river front. The treatment suggested is not beyond realization. It has genuine utilitarian significance. It will 
largely solve the automobile parking problem. Twenty-five years hence such a water front would be an outstanding civic asset. 


PROPERTY OF L. S. SMITE 
RETURN TO R. 215 ENGA’G -BLEC. 


A Comprehensive 
City Plan 


Memphis, Tennessee 


CITY PLAN COMMISSION 
Wet 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW 
City Plan Engineer 
SAINT LOUIS 


EARL O. MILLS 
iD ele OIN 
Associate City Planners 
WM. D. HUDSON 


Associate Engineer 


e 7 ie +¥* . 7 ~ iy or 
th Aye a ass: em | 


‘Ordinarily, and in the great 
majority of cases, human rights 
and property rights are funda- 
mentally and in the long run 
identical, but when it clearly 
appears that there is real con- 
flict between them, human rights 
must have the upper hand, for 
property belongs to man and 
not man to property.’”’ 


—Theodore Roosevelt. 


[3] 


F LN AE RLE Py O RET 


[4] 


PARK BOARD 


Cy Jow| CI 


SECTION 1 BE IT ENACTED by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, that 
the Legislative, body of all incorporated municipalities having piaanes in excess of 
one hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants by the Federal Census of |92O, or by 
any subsequent Federal Census, are hereby authorized and empowered by ordinance, 
duly passed, to create City Planning Commissions for such municipalities. 


SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that—such_ City Planning Commission shall 
consist of eight citizen members, to be appointed by the Mayor,subject "to the — 
opproval—-of tre Legislative body of the Municipalities, and four members ex-officio. 

——The Commissioners of Streets, Bridges and Sewers, the Commissioner of 
Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings, the Chairman of the Park Board. and 
the oy Engineer shall be Ex-officio members of the Commission ond in addition, 
there shall be a secretary , to be likewise appointed by the Mayor. 


THE CITY OF MEMPHIS 


| 
ISECY EX-OFFI 0 | , 5 
N 


THES SC ie IA 


[=] 
I[N] 


POWERS AND DUTIES 


| To collect data 

2 To keep itself informed as to the best practices, and the advancement made generally, 
in the art of City Planning. . 

3 To act on matters that “affect the present and future movement of traffic, the convenience, 
the safety of persons and property, the health, the recreahon and the general 
welfare and amenities and all other needs of the municipality, which are dependent 
upon the city plan. 

4 Not to supplant nor impair the power of any existing board, bureau or Commission, already 
in existence, except that matters coming within the purmew Of the Plonning Commission, 
shall be referred to that body, to the end that there shall be ao proper correlation 
of thought and the furtherance of comprehensive plans for all betterments 
carried out by the city. 

5 To make. plons and maps of the whole or any portion of the Municipality or any land 
outside of the Municipality, which beors a relation to the planning of the municipality. 

G Show recommendations for stréets, alleys, ways, viaducts, bridges. subways, railroads, 
terminals, transit \ines, parkways, parks, playgrounds or any other public grounds or 
public improvements. 

7 To recommend provisions for the preservation and care of historical landmarks , control 
in the manner provided by ordinance, the design and Jocation of statuary,ond other 
works of art which ore, or may become the property of ‘the Municipality, and the 
removal, re-location and alteration of such works belonging to the Municipality and the 
design and location of harbors, viaducts, street fixtures and other public structures & appurtenances. 

8 No public buildings, streets, alleys, ways, viaducts, bridges, subways, railroads. terminals, transit lines, 
ee Ss. parks, playgrounds or any other public grounds or public improvement or part 
hereof shall be constructed until and unless the location thereof shall be approved by the 
City Planning Commission. 

2 All plans, plots or replots of lands laid out in building lots, into streets, alleys or other portions of 
the same, intended to be dedicated to public use, shall be submitted to the City Branning 
Commission for approval. : 


TRANSIT 


ZONING 


CIVIC ART 


Gr Bh Al he Pe LeAyNeN] LON] G CROs Me Male Seo OmN 


THE PLANNING COMMISSION 


On March 30, 1920, an ordinance was passed by the City Commission cre- 
ating a City Planning Commission. The City Commission, upon recommendation 
of Mayor Rowlett Paine, appointed the following persons to serve on such 
Commission : 


*D. M. Crawford . . . For term expiring December 31, 1920 
ee WWE Megan) eee te ae gs ng ut 66 ‘< cs c 
Mrs. J. M. McCormack . et es pe “ Cents 
Weal ee Cer el ONC seem taka ie eta eo “ ¢ “© 499] 
EK. B. LeMaster . . . Se Ee “% &< Gey ke 
oS: E. Ragland ss ; . : 66 Gé GG GG a a 
Mrs iIrby¢Bennett —~ . -“) *' * eLo22 
Ge Hansen Gas «ear feet es Ke ce Lee 
Wassell Randolph ae a ee es c ce ce 


Wm. B. Fowler, City Engineer, ex officio. 


On April 14, 1920, the Commission met and organized, with Mr. Wassell 
Randolph as Chairman and Mr. C. C. Pashby as Secretary. 

On March 29, 1921, the City Planning Commission was constituted as an 
official body under authority of Chapter 162, Private Acts 1921. The personnel 
and organization of the Commission as then constituted have remained un- 
changed to date, as follows: 


Wassell Randolph, Chairman. 

Mrs. Irby Bennett. 

C. J. Haase. 

Walk C, Jones. 

E. B. LeMaster. 

Mrs. J. M. McCormack. 

S. E. Ragland. 

Dan Wolf. 

W. B. Fowler, City Engineer, ex officio. 

Harry N. Howe, Commissioner Streets, Bridges and Sewers, ex officio. 

Horace Johnson, Commissioner Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings, ex 
officio. 

J. T. Willingham, Chairman Park Commission, ex officio. 

C. C. Pashby, Secretary. 


On November 23, 1920, the Commission entered into a contract with Mr. 
Harland Bartholomew of St. Louis for the preparation of a comprehensive 
city plan. 


*Deceased. 


BOING AL 


RPE TESOL Rye 


PRELIMINARY STATEMENT BY THE PLANNER 


CITY PLAN suggests improvements of 
present or future value. To plan wisely 
is to presuppose a most thorough study 
of the forces that have given rise to pres- 
ent growth and to interpret future tendencies 
correctly, so that there may result a_ well- 
ordered, attractive and properly functioning 
city. With the rapid advances and improve- 
ments in those sciences that so closely touch the 
habits of our daily lives, it is difficult to plan 
with complete confidence and accuracy for any 
given period of time. This—Plan—of—Mem-phis 
has been made presumably for the next fifty 
years of the ‘ity’s growth. A brief history o: of 
the site and a scheme of improvement, with 
reasons for certain recommendations, are here 


given. 

When we contemplate the remarkable expan- 
sion in area and in numbers of buildings and 
improvements constructed in Memphis during 
the past fifty years, it becomes increasingly evi- 
dent that a plan so notably lacking in the past, 
will be of even greater advantage than may now 
be supposed. A casual observation in the city 
now reveals irregularity of growth, 
building | activity on. the outskirts. and st. agnation 
of activity in areas less distant from the city’s 
center. What has been ealled the multitude of 


impulses that constitute a_city’s. s_ growth need _ 


direction, which can only be given through the 
city plan. Lack of organization is the greatest 
fault to be found with the modern city. Indi- 
vidual enterprise cannot supply by co-operation 
or by accident what is intended by the city plan. 
That city which fails to plan now for its future 
erowth will find itself at_a distinct disadvantage 
with its competitor cities in the not distant fu- 
Tue neontrolled growth invites chaos and 
economic - disaster. j 
The present city plan is the outgrowth of 


vigorous — 


the most thorough study to the several prelim- 
inary reports submitted for consideration and 
approval previous to their amalgamation into 
Certainly no set 


this comprehensive city plan. 
of city officials and of 


have given “more generously of Gy time and 
There 


effort in the preparation of a city_plan 

have Ca MS EtRES OP Tia Commis- 
sion and of the various committees, public hear- 
ings, conferences with representatives of utility 
corporations and with private individuals. Many 
studies have been undertaken and much valuable 
information collected which are not included or 
shown in the present report. Without exception 
there has been generous and complete co-opera- 
tion of the press in extensive news items and in 
editorial comments. Numerous e¢ivie organiza- 
tions have rendered valuable service through 
special committee work, either voluntarily or in 
response to requests by the Commission. 

The earnestness with which the City Planning 
Commission has undertaken its work and the 
degree of co-operation of city officials, utility 
corporations, civic organizations, the press, and 
numerous citizens augurs well for the future 
maintenance and execution of the plan. The 
vigor with which the present city administration 
has approached the problem of city planning has 
resulted in the initiation of many projects, so 
that even now the plan may be said to be well 
under way. A brief review of the steps already 
taken may be recounted as follows: 

Preparation and passage of considerable leg- 
islation. * 

Appointment of representative City Planning 
Commission. 

Completion of Adams-Jefferson connection. 


ue Completion of Somerville-Linden widening 


nd connection. 
\N Completion of Union Avenue widening, Third 


three years of extensive work by members of my v ¥ to Marshall. 


staff, of whole-hearted co-operation of all city YW 


officials-and of laborious effort by the members 
of the City Planning Commission, who, as mem- 
bers of the various sub-committees, have given 


[6 ] 


South Second Street widening and extension, 
now under construction. 

South Third Street widening and extension, 
now completed. 


vee eee NING NGG 


CLO Neves Si) elo ORIN 


Paving programs 1922-1923 made in accord- 
ance with major street plan. 

Completion McLemore Avenue viaduct. 

Linden Avenue subway completed. 

Contract let for Bellevue Boulevard subway. 

Rearrangement of tracks at west end of Rail- 
road Avenue agreed upon with railroads. 

Jefferson Avenue opening across Southern 
Railroad Yard and widening to intersection 
with Adams Avenue under construction. 

Acquisition of Galloway Park, 120 acres. 

Kixtension of North Parkway to Jackson Ave- 
nue completed. 

Reclamation of three blocks of city property 
on the River Front from Jefferson Avenue to 
Poplar Boulevard. 

Hnactment of Zoning Ordinance. 

Removal of street car tracks on Linden Ave- 
nue from Lauderdale Street to Main Street, and 
on Lauderdale Street from Vance Avenue to 
Linden Avenue, this car line having been re- 
routed west on Vance Avenue at Lauderdale 
Street, and the paving of these portions of Lau- 
derdale Street and Linden Avenue. 

Other projects recommended by the City Plan- 
ning Commission, which are looked upon with 
favor by the City Commission, and which may 
reasonably be expected to be accomplished with- 
in the next two years, including: 

Extension of Gayoso Avenue from Wellington 
Street east and southeast to an intersection with 
Linden Avenue at Cynthia Place. 

Widening and extension of Turley Street from 
Mississippi Boulevard to Union Avenue. 

Widening and connecting Calhoun Avenue, 
St. Paul Avenue and Carr Avenue. 

Extension of Washington Avenue east to an 
intersection with Poplar Boulevard. 


Extension of Madison Avenue from East 
Parkway to city limits. 

Extension of Union Avenue from East Park- 
way to city limits. 

Separation of railroad grade crossing near 
Aulon for Poplar Boulevard, Madison Avenue 
and Union Avenue by one common grade sepa- 
ration or by independent separations. 

Connection of Peabody Avenue with Vance 
Avenue at East Strect. 

Hstablishment of set-back lines on: Linden 
Avenue from Walnut Street: to Main Street; 
Bellevue Boulevard from Union Avenue to 
South Parkway; Gayoso Avenue from Welling- 
ton Street to Second Street. 

As now constituted, the City Planning Com- 
mission is widely representative and particularly 
well qualified to furnish the degree of leadership 
needed in the work. Probably no similar com- 
mission has ever undertaken, through the pains- 
taking efforts of its committees, the preparation 
of a city plan with greater thoroughness and 
care. In the interest of the future of the city 
plan it is most desirable that the present com- 
mission remain intact in so far as possible and 
that subsequent appointments be of equal degree 
of character, skill, and self-sacrificing citizen- 
ship. The integrity of the planning commission 
membership should always be unquestioned. 

The planner takes this opportunity to express 
his appreciation of the many courtesies extended 
to himself and to the members of his staff. Work 
of the present magnitude is seldom prosecuted 
without occasional differences of opinion. The 
uniform courtesy and whole-hearted co-operation, 
at all times evident in Memphis, however, have 
been most unusual, an experience which will 
always be remembered with the greatest of 
pleasure. 


Respectfully submitted, 


Marland Davee? 


Hee 
whe 


SOWOANDNP wD EL z 


BRIN GAg lay J) 12 CO) igh - Ah 
CONTENTS 

Page 

Diagram of City Planning Organization 4 
The Planning Commission 5 
Preliminary Statement by the Planner 6 
Contents . 8 
Plates . 8 
Illustrations 9 
Principles of City Planning 11 
History of the Site : 17 

Wassell Randolph, Chairman City plannine Conn amen 
Major Streets 33 
Transit 59 
Transportation 63 
Recreation 93 
Zoning 1aly 
Civie Art 129 
The Execution of the City 1 Plan 137 
Bond Issues in Memphis 145 
C. C. Pashby, City Clerk 

Appendices 149 
A—City Planning Act 150 
B—Zoning Act 153 
C—Approval of Subdivision Act 156 
D—Building Line Act 157 
K—City Planning Commission Ordinance . 4) FEDS 
F—Zoning Ordinance 161 
G—Rules for Land Subdivision 171 
Index 173 


Map of Memphis in 1827 
Growth in Area . 
Population Growth 
Undeveloped Areas 


. Distribution of Population 

. Evolution of Major Street System 

. Variations in Capacity of Radial Streets 

. Streets 66 Feet Wide and Over ; 
. Major Street Plan. . . ai es facing 
. South Second Street Improvement 

. Improvements Proposed in Central Section 


OL Cityins, Ree eee ee facing 


[8] 


. Proposed Treatment of River Front, Frontispiece 
. Harly Land Subdivision 


PLATES 
Page No. 
14. Somerville-Linden Connection . as 
18 15. Extension of Lauderdale Avenue North . 
20 16. Connection of Florida and Front Streets 
22 17. Gayoso-Linden Connection ; 
25 18. Connection of Jefferson and Adams Avenue 
28 19. Connection of Washington and Poplar 
fal 20. South Third Street Improvement 
33 21. Street Cross-Sections . ‘ 
- 22. Street Design 
37 28. Paved Streets, Sewer at Tater ‘Facilities 
38 24. Land Subdivision Principles 
25, Present and Proposed Track (EE 
39 ment<@ ¥%.. Gils 2. ee een acing 


Page 
40-41 
42 
43 
45 
46 
47 
49 
52 
54 
56 


57 


59 


Crime lee y; ae eee NG New Lee NiG 


COP Me Ma le Saar Le O Ni 


No. Page No. 
26. Existing and Proposed Improvement in 4). Diagram Showing Principal Raw Materials 
mransportatvion, Facilities ~ 297. 2.4 . 65 Used at Memphis : 
27. Railroad Properties . . 66 41. Diagram Showing Various ‘Finished Prod- 
28. Plan Showing Proposed Revision. in " Oper- ucts Shipped From Memphis ; 
ating Methods of Railroads . . facing 67 42. Recreation Facilities of Central Section of 
29. Railroad Map of Freight and Passenger City . : 
Terminal District . : facing 67 43. Juvenile Delinquency ; 
30. Routing and Volume of Freight Car Move- 44, Plan of Winchester Park : 
ment of All Railroads . . 68 45. White School Population and Playground 
31. Diagram Showing Effects Upon Traffic Needs ; 
Movement of Proposed Revisions in Oper- 46. Negro School Population and. Playground 
ating Methods. . i ee Tae 69 Needs Nae ie vee 
32. Freight Car Movement Diagrams ape 70 47. Outer Park and Boulevard System facing 
33. Diagram Showing Routing and Volume of 48. Types of Pleasure Drives eo 
Passenger Train Movements. . 71 Ae WE: IONE WEY) 6 5 o no o facing 
34. Origin and Destination of L. C. L. Freight . 73 50. Wind Roses . Bh as Pomel ely Uri 
35. Distribution of L. C, L. Freight Tonnage . 74 51. Height and Area Map rib : facing 
36. Distribution and Movement of L. GC. L. 52. Industrial Districts and Vacant 
Ereishtie sec) 15 Property . . facing 
37. Profile of Proposed Hlevated: Tine Along 53. Rp aie for Industrial Use Outside 
Teves Bes ya 16 54. Typical Examples of Poor Land Subdivision 
38. Chart Showing Taterehance of Care ry eae Ctl and Overcrowding . . 
39. Typical Plan for Recovery, Protection and 55. Suggested Traffic Circle Plan, ‘North Park- 
Use of Wharf Property, etc... . .. . 88 way and Jefferson . ol ee ee 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
Page 
New River-Rail Terminal oy io. Oe oe es 6 The New Third Street at Beale 
DeSoto Park ae) mee Ce eee Gh nM cece 1G Rayburn Boulevard Before Opening 
Confederate. Parkes. — ey eee be 21 The New Third Street at Calhoun . 
Antebellum Residences 5 2 29. 5 5 «= 23 Union-Third-Hernando Intersection 
Memphis Terminal Corporation. . ... . 26 Bellevue Boulevard at Broadway 
GrearsCottone Warehouse. lene: = 27 Main Street ; 
The Two Bridges . . eee Poe ep ce ee 29 Municipal Package Freight Terminal : 
Wooden Viaduct in Arkansas ee een he Re 30 Memphis Union Station ; 
ConcretesHichwayall Arkansas see 30 The Illinois Central-Railroad Avenue Crossing ‘ 
Memphis Wharf eae ; 32 McLemore Avenue Viaduct ees 
Memphis as Seen from the Mississippi River : 36 Suggested Treatment of River Front f 
South Second Street at Talbot (Before). . . 37 Wading Pool, Overton Park . : 
South Second Street at Talbot (After) . . . aid The Island 
South Second Street at Beale (Before) . . 38 The River from Riverside Park 
South Second Street at Calhoun After Improve- Landscape in Overton Park . 
ment : : 38 Golf Course in Overton Park . . 
Union Avenue at Marshall Before Widening E 39 View in Proposed Park South of City 
Union Avenue at Marshall After Widening . . 39 Raleigh Springs Proposed Park 
Somerville Street Before Improvement. . . 40 Three Views of Parkway . 
“Somerville Street After Improvement. . . . 40 North Parkway Before Extension 
Linden Avenue Before Improvement... . 41 North Parkway Extension Incomplete 
Linden Avenue After Improvement. .. . 41 View on Court Avenue 
Completed Somerville-Linden Connection . 42 Court Avenue Looking East. . 
Point Where North Lauderdale Will Intersect Landscape Along Proposed New Parkway 
Jackson : : 42 East Parkway at Poplar Boulevard 
Route of North Lauderdale Extension Ba Oe 43 Brooks Memorial Art Gallery 
Union Avenue West from Camilla Street... 43 Invasion of Residence District 
LimioneA venue at Hord! Plant. 19220550, 6 ene 44 Parkview Hotel . 2 
Union Avenue at Ford Plant,1924. ... . 44 The Changing Skyline . 
Adams Avenue Before Improvement. . . . 46 Forrest Monument. . ; 
Adams Avenue After Improvement : : 46 Shelby County Court House : 
Where Washington Would Intersect Poplar : 47 Bill Boards on Parkway . 
Proposed Extension of Washington . . . . 47 A Southern Mansion 
Proposed Opening of Jefferson Avenue . . . 48 Overhanging Signs . 
Jefferson Avenue Under Construction iv Fao: 48 Sidewalk Obstruction . 
Jefferson Avenue at Lauderdale .... . 48° Tree Planting 
Jefferson Avenue Work Under aes en? ale 48 Setback on Union Avenue 
Third Street at Beale. . . ann ee et 49 Post Office 


Page 


89 
90 


95 
97 
98 


101 


103 
105 
112 
SIG 
119 
121 


125 
125 
126 


131 


Page 
49 
50 
50 
50 
51 
51 
62 
78 
79 
81 
88 
94 

104 
106 
107 
107 
108 
108 
109 
110 
110 
ila) 
ial 
iat 
114 
ills) 
118 
120 
127 
128 
130 
133 
134 
135 
135 
136 
144 
146 


[9] 


R 


1D 12 Oy dake ak 


[10 ] 


New river-rail terminal, financed jointly by United States and city. 


Crm bern Y. Peia wa tN N 


LesN; 


G 


COM MeMe TS nel Or N 


PRINCIPLES OF 


ITY Planning is _that phase of municipal 
ee Se a 
activity which analyzes the character and 


probable extent of the city’s growth, sug- 

gests certain physical readjustments and 
provides for the co-ordination _of—all future im- 
provements. Under proper and sympathetic ad- 


ministrative agencies it would make _possible the 


gradual and economical development of an_or- 


ie well- arranged city which would provide 


eood living _conditions for all its citizens, be 


everywhere wholesome and attractive in appear- 


anee and free from those phy sical defects that 


hamper commercial | and d industri vial_activity. 

It is a well-recognized fact that modern cities 
are lacking in unity of design, do not easily pro- 
mote the expansion of commerce and industry, 
and have numerous residential districts of doubt- 
ful value. The past few years have produced a 
noteworthy public realization of the deficiencies 
and mistakes of city growth. There are few 
cities which are not now engaged in attempting 
to correct evils resulting from neglect. 

City planning is essentially concerned with 
It has noth- 
ing to do with political interests or factional 

ifferences. “The vity-plar isa beneficial instru- 


ment affecting the lives of all city dwellers so 


the physical development of cities. 


long as the city endures. It should transcend 
all other considerations, 
Those things which properly constitute the 


city plan are six in number: 


(1) Streets. 

(2) ‘Transit. 

(3) Transportation (rail and water). 
(4) Public recreation. 

(5) Zoning. 

(6) Civie art. 


These are the physical elements which, when 
properly planned and correlated, make possible 


CITY PLANNING 


the creation of an attractive and orderly work- 
ing organism out of the heterogeneous mass we 
now call the city. 

In the development of a city plan whereby 
the growth of a city may be controlled over a 
period of years, we are confronted with the ap- 
pheation of these six principles in— 

(a) Areas now in whole or in part developed 
with streets, buildings, and customary improve- 
ments; and 


(b) 


proved. 


Areas as yet undeveloped and unim- 


It is far more simple to plan for new growth 
The 
To 
replan areas already developed is often costly, 


than to replan areas already developed. 

cost of planning new areas is small indeed. 
and yet even the cost of replanning is usually 
more than justified in the 
A 
finding its reflection in 


greater degree of use- 
fulness which results. new impetus is given 
to growth, increased 
local property values and greater public con- 


venience. 


STREETS 


The street system is the fundamental element 
It is the skeleton or frame- 
work of the city structure. There 
types of streets that every well-planned city 


of the city plan. 
are three 


should have: 


[11] 


I J INE ek 


J ie, 12 GY Ry “AP 


(1) Main arterial thoroughfares. 
(2) Secondary (crosstown) thoroughfares. 
(8) Minor streets. 


The main arterial thoroughfares should be of 
commodious width (100 feet or greater), and 
provide continuous and direct communication 
between the central business district and all 
parts of the city. They may be compared to 
the spokes of a wheel, radiating in all directions 
from the hub. In so far as these main arterial 
thoroughfares are provided, just so far is com- 
munication facilitated and the uniform expan- 
sion and growth of a city encouraged. 

The secondary or crosstown thoroughfares 
should be preferably eighty to one hundred feet 
wide, providing easy communication between 
outlying districts of the city. Where the rec- 
tangular form of street platting has been fol- 
lowed, as is the case in most cities, these sec- 
ondary crosstown thoroughfares should be spaced 
approximately one-half mile apart. When new 
growth occurs they should be continued, either 
by extending those which exist or by developing 
new ones at about the same intervals. 

Minor streets are those which chiefly serve 
residential districts. Their design and arrange- 
ment should facilitate access to such districts, 
but should not provide for or encourage any- 
thing but ‘‘local’’ traffic. Widths of approxi- 
mately fifty feet, with twenty-six feet roadway, 
should be satisfactory, supplemented by setback 
lines for all buildings. The platting of minor 
residential streets should not be of the rectangu- 
lar type alone. Variation in topography often 
justifies departure from this method, and where 
there is no variation in topography, a modifica- 
tion of the rectangular street pattern often in- 
troduces a greater degree of interest and charm 
into the district. 

A fourth classification of street types might 
be found in what is sometimes ealled the special 
service street, such as that serving industrial 
areas. The width, arrangement and design of 
special service streets is dependent upon the use 
which is to be made of them. 


[12] 


\B TRANSIT 


The provision of transit facilities involves 
various types of carriers, including the street 
car, the motor bus, the rapid transit line, and 
the more modern facilities now being developed, 
such as the trackless trolley. The city plan is 
not concerned primarily with questions of fare, 
methods of operation, ownership, or volume of 
service, except as these questions affect the unity 
of the system and its direct relation to the dis- 
tribution of population and the physical arrange- 
ment of the city. 

It is a generally accepted fact that the opera- 
tion of a system, whether privately or publicly 
owned, is largely dependent upon the street plan. 
An adequate system of main arterial thorough- 
fares and secondary ecrosstown thoroughfares 
will make possible the development of a satis- 
faetory system of transit facilities. 

A unification of all types of transit facilities 
is to be desired for the best results. With the 
exception of the largest cities, the greatest vol- 
ume of traffic is cared for by a system of surface 
street car lines. After an adequate major street 
plan has been devised, attention should be given 
to the rerouting of existing street car lines in 
(a) the business district, and (b) remaining 
areas of the city, in order that more direct and 
expeditious service can be provided. Combina- 
tions, rearrangements and extensions of facili- 
ties, regardless of their type, can then be 
planned to meet the needs of a growing city. 
There will thus be established a definite plan of 
procedure in place of the more or less common 
makeshift policy of temporary readjustments. 


(Cea Ys 


Eee Acme Nie N oD Noe 


ClOe MEMS Sasa ls ON 


TRANSPORTATION 


(RAIL AND WATER) 


Steam railroad and water-borne traffic are to 
be considered under the term transportation. 
The problems of each city in this phase of plan- 
ning vary greatly in accordance with the size 
of the city and the number of railroads and 
water routes established. There are four classes 
of traffic to be considered : 


(1) Passenger traffic. 

(2) Through earload business. 

(3) Local carload business. 

(4) Local L. C. L. (less than carload) busi- 
ness. 


Only after a thorough study of the existing 
conditions in a city, its needs and probable in- 
ereased growth, can suggestions for adequate 
planning be made so that new facilities may fit 
into the general city plan. 


There is a marked tendency toward unifica- 
tion of transportation facilities within cities. In 
so far as unification of service can be provided 
this should be done. There are practical lm- 
itations upon the early accomplishment of this 
object, such as the expense of wholesale readjust- 
ments and undue interference with present high- 
ly developed facilities, that necessitate gradual 
execution of unification plans. 


Unification of passenger traffic facilities has 
been more customary than for other types of 
rail and water traffic. Union passenger stations 


are to be found in many cities. Where more 
than one station for passenger traffic is neces- 
sary, they should be located carefully with re- 
spect to the street arrangement, the business dis- 
trict, and the center of population. 


Where the freight facilities of a city become 
congested or a hindrance to the movement of 
street traffic or to the enlargement of commer- 
cial and industrial areas, it will usually prove 
desirable to locate freight yards outside the de- 
veloped areas of cities and provide belt lines 
whereby through freight may be routed around 
the city without entering it and congesting local 
terminals. 


The location, capacity and arrangement of 
classification yards should be such as to facili- 
tate early delivery of local carload freight to 
industries and to team tracks. Team track facili- 
ties should be properly located and of sufficient 
size to be somewhat in advance of the needs of 
the community. Similarly, the facilities essential 
to the early collection of local outbound earload 
freight should insure early delivery for road 
haul. This implies reduction of rehandling and 
consequent economy in time and cost. As cities 
inerease in size, the volume of local L. C. L. traf- 
fie usually increases correspondingly, while the 
compheations of handling L. C. L. freight in- 
crease in greater ratio. There is need, therefore, 
of studying not merely the facilities at hand, but 
the methods of handling. The relation between 
the city plan and freight movements is best illus- 
trated by the fact that an improper method of 
handling may send an unwarranted number of 
vehicles upon the streets, while unsatisfactory 
loeations of freight houses may necessitate haul- 
ing of freight through congested retail centers, 
with which the freight traffic has nothing what- 
soever in common. 


[13] 


Pee Agel: 


Hoe PeOeRet 


PUBLIC RECREATION 


It is only within the past fifty years that the 
courts have come generally to recognize the ne- 
eessity for the expenditure of public funds for 
recreation facilities. So long as people are per- 
mitted to congest and overecrowd sections of the 
city, it becomes necessary to provide publicly for 
the recreation which people need but are unable 
to secure within and about their homes. The 
several types of public recreation facilities which 
cities should provide, according to size and den- 
sity of population, are: 


(a) Community Centers, 

(b) Children’s Playgrounds, 

(ec) Neighborhood Parks, 

(d) Recreation Fields, 

(e) Large Parks, 

(f) Boulevards and Outlying Parks or Res- 
ervations. 


It is not to be supposed that all recreation 
facilities that might be created or desired can be 
supplied by the city. It is particularly impor- 
tant, therefore, that the city’s expenditures for 
these facilities be so distributed that the maxi- 
mum amount of service will be provided for the 
greatest number of people. 

The community center is a well-recognized 
publi recreation agency which also offers splen- 
did opportunities for educational work, Ameri- 
canization, a forum for the discussion of public 
affairs, and the like. Properly designed school 
buildings are the best community centers, par- 
ticularly since community center activities are 
greatest in out-of-school hours. Hence the pro- 
vision of community center service is largely a 
matter of organization and administration rather 
than of city planning, for it is presumed that 


[yay 


school buildings will have been located in accord- 
ance with or as a part of the city plan. 

The first important consideration in devising 
a system of children’s playgrounds is that of 
selecting sites within easy reach of large num- 
bers of small children. The public schools, obvi- 
ously, should be located according to such a for- 
mula, and for the most effective results, there- 
fore, playgrounds should be adjacent to the 
schools. The school building and the playground 
should constitute a complete year-’round eduea- 
tional and recreational center for children. It 
is necessary for the city to anticipate school and 
playground needs by reservation of adequate 
sites in advance of growth. 

Neighborhood parks are needed in all resi- 
dential districts and should be more numerous 
where population is dense. A study of present 
and expected population density and of available 
park sites will readily suggest where neighbor- 
hood parks should be provided. 

Large parks and recreation fields are gener- 
ally the most highly prized assets of cities. Many 
cities possess such areas, although their ac- 
quisition has more often been the result of 
chance gifts or opportune purchase than a con- 
scious effort to provide such facilities within 
easy access of all citizens. Cities should have 
large parks so located that people in all parts 
of the city may find one or more of them easily 
accessible. Often land unsuited for residential 
or industrial development and reasonable in 
price will make splendid parks, inerease the 
character and value of surrounding property 
and provide the play facilities so essential to 
city life. , 

Once a careful plan for the development of 
various public recreational grounds has been 
determined, its gradual execution should be a 
matter of fixed policy. In addition to the areas 
provided within or closely adjacent to the built- 
up city area, there should be an effort to secure 
large areas in outlying territory while they are 
still cheap and unspoiled by the city’s growth. 
A system of boulevards connecting large parks 


ee eee NN Le Nia Gx 


E; OY WME AME AE Sy ts} 10 TO) teh 


within developed city areas and extending to 
the larger outlying parks or reservations, and 
perhaps having connection with the central busi- 
ness district, will insure not merely the develop- 
ment of a unified recreation system, but will find 
character of residential 


reflection in a_ better 


development, inereased and_ stabilized land 


values, and hence increased tax returns. 


ZONING 


After a scheme of streets, transit, transporta- 
tion and publie recreation has been determined 
and the chief elements of the physical structure 
of the city are thus planned, it becomes a matter 
of evident reasonableness to regulate property 
use in all parts of the city in accordance with 
these several elements. The major streets may, for 
parts of their lengths at least, quite naturally 
be expected to become commercial streets. Areas 
provided with railroad facilities should be en- 
eouraged to develop for industrial purposes. 
Areas now occupied or suitable for residential 
purposes, having streets planned in accordance 
with residential needs and supplied with recrea- 
tion facilities, should most certainly be protected 
against industrial or commercial intrusions. 
Such a measure will insure permanency and 
harmony in these districts. 

A zoning ordinance will give stability and 
character, as well as encouragement to the proper 
development of the city. A zoning ordinance 
provides three kinds of regulations, which affect 
(1) the uses of property and buildings; (2) the 
heights of buildings; and (3) the size and ar- 
‘rangement of buildings upon lots and of open 
spaces about such buildings. A zoning ordinance 


will encourage like types of structures within 
districts to be determined in accordance with 
their most natural fitness. Zoning ordinances 
recognize prevailing types of development and 
are not retroactive in their provisions. Existing 
buildings and uses of property are permitted to 
continue, but new buildings must be built in 
locations set aside for them, sufficiently large 


and otherwise suited for full and free expansion. 


CIVIC ART 


Unfortunately, city planning work has erro- 
neously been considered as the municipal activ- 
ity coneerned merely with the superficial beau- 
tification or enhancement of the city’s appear- 
ance. 


From the foregoing explanation of the 
basic principles of a city plan, it will be seen 
that economic and social considerations are fun- 
damental. Once the several elements of the city 
plan heretofore described have been carefully 
planned and gradually executed, there will re- 
sult greater uniformity of development and a 
more balanced type of growth which, in itself, 
will exemplify one of the primary essentials of 
good design—the adaptation of form to fune- 
tion. To be sure, there are certain considera- 
tions that should receive special attention, such 
as the grouping of publie buildings at strategic 
locations, the regulation of poles and wires, cer- 
tain regulation of signs and billboards, a careful 
system of street tree planting, and numerous 
other similar activities that will add greatly to 
The 
city must recognize the advantages of attractive- 


the city’s appearance when properly done. 


ness and devote some attention to this phase of 
its development. 


[15] 


FIN AL a a ey (Oh ky Ab 


[16 ] 


NEAR THIS SPoT 
HERNANDO DE SOTO] 
| piscevereD 
a THE MISS1SSIPPL RIVER 
, IN MAT-IS4). 


DeSoto Park. Inscription on bronze tablet, ‘‘When first visited by the white man this spot 

was the site of the fortress of Chisca, the chief of the Indian tribe which inhabited this region, 

and whose principal village stood a short distance eastward. The nearby eminences aré mounds 
which were constructed by aboriginal inhabitants and are of unknown antiquity.” 


Ce ORM Me Sees a OmN 


HISTORY OF THE SITE 


WASSELL RANDOLPH 


CHAIRMAN City PLANNING COMMISSION 


N PRESENTING a history of the site of 
Memphis, a brief recounting of the 
events and forces that have contributed 
to the city throughout a century or more 

of growth will be helpful in gaining the per- 

spective essential to an understanding of the 
eity plan. 

The city of Memphis is built upon historic 
ground. It oceupies a high bluff commanding 
a wide view of the Mississippi River. In Indian 
days this eminence was famous. The country 
around was in possession of that fierce but hon- 
orable tribe, the Chickasaws, and upon this bluff 
they had one of their villages. A mound reputed 
to have been built by them still stands, a monu- 
ment to their prowess. The bluff itself today 
bears their name. 

Recorded history of the Memphis region be- 
gins with the coming of the first white men. 
In 1541 Hernando DeSoto, in his futile quest 
of gold, broke the fastness of the Chickasaw do- 
minion and came to the village on the bluff, then 
ruled by a chief named Chiseca. The band of 
Spaniards was permitted by Chisca to remain 
on the east bank twenty-eight days building 
barges to be used in crossing the river. This 
they did on the 18th of June, 1541, leaving the 
Chickasaws to be undisturbed thereafter for 
nearly two centuries. 

_ By virtue of DeSoto’s discovery, Spain laid 

claim to the territory. Spanish rule was prac- 

tically undisturbed until 1673, when a French 
exploring party under Louis Joliet, a Quebec 
trader, and Father Marquette, a Jesuit mission- 
ary, voyaged down the Mississippi to a point 
considerably south of the Lower Chickasaw 
3luff. Nine years later a still bolder explorer, 

Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, succeeded in 

reaching the mouth of the Mississippi, and on 

April 9, 1682, took formal possession of the great 

river valley in the name of his sovereign, Louis 

XIV of France. 

For eighty years thereafter the region around 
Memphis was counted part of the French em- 


—2— 


pire in America, although as a matter of fact 
the Chickasaw Indians still maintained them- 
selves in their old territory with practically un- 
impaired independence, resisting alike French 
efforts to win them by trade or conquer them 
by force. Meanwhile Great Britain was press- 
ing a rival claim. Ten years prior to LaSalle’s 
formal ceremony at the mouth of the Mississippi, 
British explorers and traders had pushed across 
the Appalachian Mountains from the Atlantic 
seaboard and laid claim to the land stretching 
away to the Mississippi. In 1673 Charles II 
constituted as a province ‘‘Carolina,’’ a terri- 
tory which ineluded not only the lands which 
still bear the name, but also the vast hinterland, 
the boundaries of which were not then known. 
Traders were before long operating through the 
country which now comprises the states of Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee, and their activities among 
the Indian tribes were from the first a serious 
menace to French efforts at colonization in the 
Mississippi Valley. 

Increasing friction both in Europe and Amer- 
ica between Great Britain and France culmi- 
nated in the French and Indian War, at the 
close of which France was obliged to yield to her 
rival all claims to territory east of the Missis- 
sippl. 

The site of Memphis, however, did not long 
remain British soil. At the close of the Revo- 
lutionary War, Great Britain gave up her title 
to it and it became part of the domain of the 
State of North Carolina. In December, 1789, 
North Carolina ceded its western lands to the 
United States, and seven years later the terri- 
tory was admitted to the union as the State of 
Tennessee. 

But prior to this, Spain had again laid claim 
to the territory east of the Mississippi River 
under its treaty with Great Britain in 1783. In 
May, 1795, Governor Gayoso of Louisiana caused 
a fort to be erected on the Tennessee shore near 
the mouth of Wolf River and ealled it Fort Fer- 
dinand. This was considered an invasion of 


[ie 


Vey AE INE AN Tb: 


Tey 1S, 1h Oo VRLe ae 


United States territory, so an expedition was 
sent down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to 
expel the invaders. This expedition arrived at 
the Lower Chickasaw Bluffs on July 20, 1797, 
only to find that Fort Ferdinand had been dis- 
mantled and that the Spaniards had withdrawn 
to their Post Esperanza across the river, leaving 
the region in possession of the Chickasaws, under 
Chiefs Piamingo and Wolf’s Friend. 

The Indians gave permission to the Americans 
to erect a fort on the bluff where the Spanish 
fort had stood, and accordingly Fort Adams was 
constructed and the American flag was formally 
raised over it, which was the first unfurling of 
this flag on the banks of the Mississippi. A small 
garrisoh was maintained for some time and the 
name Fort Adams was later changed to Fort 
Pike. About 1801 this fort was abandoned for 
a better location near the site of old Fort As- 


PLAN SHOWING 
EARLY LAND SUBDIVISION 
THAT EFFECTED LATER. 
STREET ARRANGEMENT 


sumption, built by the early French in 1739, 
just north of the present bridges across the river. 
Here Fort Pickering was constructed and this 
remained an army post until about 1817. 

Up to 1818 the country adjacent had been 
occupied as a hunting ground by the Chickasaw 
Indians. But on October 9, 1818, General An- 
drew Jackson and Col. Isaac Shelby, as United 
States Commissioners, had by treaty with these 
Indians purchased and extinguished their title 
to all the land lying between the Tennessee, Ohio 
and Mississippi Rivers for $300,000. Immedi- 
ately numerous settlers began to flow into the 
territory. 

As far back as 1783, however, citizens of 
North Carolina, ignoring the title of the Indians, 
had begun entering large tracts of land in this 
territory. Among them was John Rice, who 
entered a 5,000-acre tract on the Mississippi 


Plate No. 2. Showing influence of land ownership on city plan. 


[18 ] 


Clee lee \: Pe LrAGeN Nie LeNG G 


(C, CO) Ae AW IL Sy) Le Oy any 


River lying south of Wolf River, and John Ram- 
sey, who entered another 5,000-aere tract on the 
Mississippi River immediately south of the Rice 
tract. The Rice grant was issued in 1789, but 
the Ramsey grant not until 1823. The division 
line between these two grants is approximately 
Beale Avenue at the river and Union Avenue 
farther east. (See Plate No. 2.) 

John Rice was killed by the Indians, and his 
brother and devisee, Elisha Rice, sold the Rice 
holdings to Judge John Overton of Nashville. 
The latter shortly thereafter conveyed a one-half 
interest to General Jackson, who soon relin- 
quished portions of his land to Stephen and 
Richard Winchester, who in turn later sold to 
General James Winchester and his brother, 
Wilham. 


The conveyances by Overton and Jackson were 
the real beginning of the history of Memphis. 
Overton, Jackson and James Winchester became 
interested in the territory immediately after the 
extinguishment of the Indian title. It was a 
distinguished trio, these founders of Memphis. 
Jackson was fresh from his laurels at the battle 
of New Orleans. Overton was his friend and 
patron and a Chief Justice of Tennessee, and 
one of the wealthiest, wisest and most influential 
men of the state. Winchester had also been a 
brilliant soldier and stood high in the nation. 
At once these men became active and planned to 
lay out a city. 

The location chosen for the city was not the 
result of chance. The commanding site upon 
the Fourth Chickasaw Bluff at the confluence 
of the Mississippi and Wolf Rivers had early 
been recognized as an excellent location for a 
town. The high, well-drained ground and the 
convergence of the trails made this an ideal site 
for a trading post. The proprietors formally 
agreed in writing therefore that a town should 
be laid off ‘‘below the south side of Wolf River 
and within one mile of the Mississippi River,’’ 
and they employed William Lawrence, surveyor, 
to lay out this new town. This he did in the 
year 1819. (See Plate No. 3.) 


Several names for the new town had been 
suggested: ‘‘Jackson,’’ in honor of ‘*Old Hick- 
ory’’ himself; ‘‘Chickasaw,’’ in memory of the 
aboriginal inhabitants, and ‘‘Memphis,’’ on ae- 
count of the location on the Mississippi similar 
to that of ancient Memphis in Egypt on the 
Mississippi’s counterpart, the Nile. It is said 


that Jackson himself made the final choice of 
name, and that he prophesied for the infant 
town a future greatness similar to the past 
greatness of its ancient namesake. 


Lawrence’s plan could well be termed the first 
city plan for Memphis. He laid out streets and 
lots in the territory from Auction Avenue on 
the north to Union Avenue on the south, and 
extending from the river to Third Street. A 
casual glance at this map will disclose the wis- 
dom and foresight embodied in his plan. Streets 
were regularly planned and of generous width 
for that early period, and the percentage of 
ground devoted to public squares and places for 
recreation was truly remarkable. Four different 
plots or ‘‘squares’’ were reserved as congre- 
gating places for the people. 

Of greater foresight, however, was the reserva- 
tion of ‘‘a promenade’”’ and public landing place 
along the river. It was a far-seeing vision which 
recommended that the river front be made an 
attractive place and reserved for public use. 
Unfortunately, however, these excellently con- 
ceived features of the first town plan of neces- 
sity had to be abandoned. The shifting of the 
river eventually made the original public land- 
ing inaceessible to boats, and what is now the 
public landing took the place of the promenade. 


The first surveyor of the boundary line be- 
tween Mississippi and Tennessee west of the 
Tennessee River has left an interesting account 
of Memphis in its earliest days. He says that 
there were then only three white men residing 
in this part of the Chickasaw purchase, Thom- 
as) Da) Carr, A] B: Carr, and ‘a ‘hired man 
named Overton, save those who were connected 
with the Indians. These were Tom Fletcher, 
who was raised by the Indians; Paddy Meagher 
and his family, who ran the old Bell Tavern; 
and Joab Bean, a blacksmith, who repaired the 
guns for the Indians. He says, further, that no 
roads led to or from the Chickasaw Bluffs, and 
there were only two Indian trails. One was the 
Cherokee Trace, leading to Tuscumbia, Alabama. 
The other was a trail leading to the Chickasaw 
settlements on Pontotoc Ridge in Mississippi, 
where the Chickasaw Indians principally re- 
sided. They used the lands to the west and 
north largely as hunting grounds. 

In 1819 the State Legislature established a 
new county in the extreme southwest corner of 
the state and named it in honor of Governor 


(19 ] 


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TOKO MEO 


[ 20 ] 


(Gy ah Mie yg 


Ge Oe MEME Si Sales Oe N 


Isaae Shelby of Kentucky. Memphis became the 
eounty seat. But Memphis, a town with streets 
and squares on a paper map, and with a name, 
but having no inhabitants except Indian hunters 
and the few white persons above mentioned, pos- 
sessed no government of any kind and _ had 
no legal protection from adventurous outlaws. 
Recognizing this situation, Jacob Tipton, as 
State Commissioner, appeared and in 1820 or- 
ganized a county government by the appoint- 
ment of justices of the peace to constitute a 
eounty court, and the county court immediately 
elected county officials. Shortly thereafter the 
population inereased to 308. In 1826, after sev- 
eral attempts and despite much opposition, 
Judge Overton finally sueceeded in having a 
charter issued to Memphis by the State Legis- 
lature. On April 26, 1827, the election of the 
first Board of Aldermen was held and promptly 
the first mayor and city officials were elected by 
the board. 

Prior to this the Legislature had passed an 
aet removing the county seat from Memphis to 


Confederate Park, a treasured bit of 


the ground originally laid out for 


Raleigh on Wolf River, eleven miles to the 
northeast, and this village became the seat of 
the county government. The change apparently 
did not affect the growth of Memphis, which 
continued to prosper. Raleigh, however, made 
little headway and the county government was 
transferred back to Memphis some years later. 

Memphis grew rapidly after its incorporation 
in 1826. The year after the town was first laid 
off it could boast of two stores, or trading places, 
one blacksmith shop and one tavern. The only 
means of river transportation available were 
barges and flatboats. For inland transportation 
the pack horse was used over the narrow Indian 
trails. Steamboats, the first of which passed 
down the Mississippi River in 1811, no longer 
ignored it as a landing place and their influence 
on trade was quickly felt. LaFayette had come 
on one of these steamers in 1824 and had held 
a reception on board. A stage line to Nashville 
was established in 1829 via Jackson, making tri- 
weekly trips. Later, a post line was opened to 
Somerville, Tennessee. 


Weyermann bie 


a public promenade. 


[21] 


FIN AL 


Weed J Oy IRL Ab 


Abont+4+830+the growins-ofceotton-became gen- 
eral in th ry a to Memphis, and 


val in_the territory adjacent to 

En ee alent a to be mar- 
keted. This was the beginning of the great cot- 
ton business which Memphis has since enjoyed 
and which laid the foundation for her future 
rowth, In 1834 Memphis established her first 
cieaabent line, one to New Orleans, and in 1836 
Memphis received a charter for her first railroad 
line, the Memphis & Lagrange Railroad Com- 
pany. Only a few miles of this road were then 
built. It was later taken over by another com- 
pany and is now a part of the Southern Rail- 
way system. 

In 1840 the population of Memphis was 1,799, 
and it had a property valuation of $659,949.00. 
This year the city first commenced paying her 
mayor a salary, amounting to $500.00 yearly. 
About this time also Congress passed an act 


authorizing the establishment of an inland navy 
yard on the Mississippi River, and Memphis suc- 
ceeded in securing its location. Work upon the 
yard commenced in the following year. It cost 
$1,500,000.00. One iron steamship was con- 
structed, but it was soon found that a navy yard 
in the interior was a mistake, and in 1853 Con- 
gress donated the yard to the city. 

The year 1850 brought to Memphis the first 
notable civie growth. The city then had a popu- 
lation of 8,841. One hundred nineteen thousand 
dollars of bonds were issued for civic improve- 
ments. Plank roads were constructed to several 
towns in the interior. By 1854 the population 
numbered 12,686. The completion of the Mem- 
phis & Charleston Railroad to the Atlantic coast 
was celebrated on May 1, 1857. With great 
pomp and ceremony there was a mingling of the 
water of the Mississippi River and that of the 


Ye 


is ne: eee aus 


HHUA 
{ 
ddan 
Val 


GROWTH OF THE CITY 
IN AREA 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW = CITY PLAN ENGINEER. 
1922 


)»» 


ciel 


2 


nani 


Nee 
= 


Plate No. 4. Proper control over civic development cannot be maintained unless the city 
extends its boundaries in advance of growth. 


Cr ley a 1 db, A ONE INE AE IN Cs 


CWE We We Ry ST a a 


Bea ane Sete ie oe ree ones eeu ane ~/ 


Ante-bellum residences on South Front Street, a type rapidly disappearing. 


Atlantie ocean, which had been brought to Mem- 
phis on the first train. At that early day the 
agitation was commenced for a transcontinental 
railroad through Memphis to the Pacifie coast, 
and at intervals subsequently this agitation was 
renewed. 

In order to keep pace with the increasing 
population, annexations had been made to the 
original town of 1819, in 1832, in 1845, and in 
1849. But in every instance development in the 
contiguous territory preceded annexation, and as 
such development had been uncontrolled, each 
annexed district bore little relation to the devel- 
opment within the corporate limits. The result 
was that after a few annexations the plan of 
Memphis was in a chaotie condition. (See Plate 
No. 4.) 


From 1850 to 1860 the city grew more rapidly 
than ever before. Its population nearly dou- 
bled, its cotton receipts more than doubled, and 
its taxable wealth increased nearly fivefold. 
Through an excess of enthusiasm, permission was 
obtained from the Legislature to issue an enor- 
mous amount of bonds for such a young city. 
This money was to be used in paving its streets, 
in aiding the construction of railroads, and for 
other municipal purposes. This was largely the 
beginning of the financial embarrassment from 
which the city later so grievously suffered. 

The year 1861, however, brought this wonder- 
ful development to a halt. The Civil War had 
broken out, and Memphis, with characteristic 
energy, had taken the field. A great number of 
military companies were organized here and en- 


[ 23 ] 


PLN SAae 


Ree PROS i 


tered the war on the side of the Confederacy. 
For the whole period of the war Memphis was 
a military camp. 

After subduing the forces on the Mississippi 
River between Cairo and Memphis, the Federal 
fleet engaged the Confederate flotilla in battle 
June 6, 1862, in front of Memphis, which re- 
sulted in the capture of the city by the Fed- 
erals. Memphis had given to the Confederate 
Army the dashing cavalry leader, General Na- 
than Bedford Forrest, and many of his cavalry- 
men. On August 21, 1864, General Forrest made 
a daring raid from North Mississippi into Mem- 
phis and was in possession of the city for a few 
hours before he retired with many Federal pris- 
oners. Except for this interruption Memphis 
was in the hands of the Federals from its cap- 
ture until the close of the war. 


The end of the war left the city prostrate. Its 
able-bodied men had practically all gone into 
the army. Those who survived were now return- 
ing penniless. The city had no trade and there 
was no eredit and little goods with which to 
begin trade. The situation was indeed discour- 
aging. 

In time, however, the military government was 
relinquished and John Park, the mayor-elect, 
resumed his office. The citizens took hold with 
determination. They faced the task of re-estab- 
lishing the city and devoted themselves diligently 
to this work. 

Things gradually grew better and trade re- 
vived. The four lines of railroads entering the 
city were rebuilt and ecommerce was re-estab- 
lished over them and by the steamboats on the 
river. Building became active and real estate 
values rose. By 1870 the city had become pros- 
perous again. Its population was about 40,000. 
After the Civil War more bonds were issued, so 
that at this time the city was staggering under 
a heavy bonded indebtedness. 

The decade beginning with 1870 was one of 
almost unexampled disaster. Up to then Mem- 
phis had enjoyed only those conveniences of any 
ordinary city of that size in that day and time. 
It lacked a sewer system. It drew its drinking 
water from Wolf River near its confluence with 
the Mississippi. Its summers were ever long and 
warm. 

In view of the little knowledge then existing 
relative to sanitation, it is not surprising that 
diseases which were common in tropical and 


[ 24 ] 


semi-tropical countries were imported into Mem- 
phis. As_a-result, during thi citi- 


zens of Memphis experienced much _ illness. 
Population fell to about 30,00 he city’s 
bended _i : ad-TI $5,500,000.00 


and her taxable values had dropped to $12,- 


It was impossible for a city to survive under 
such deplorable conditions. Heroic measures 
were essential. It was decided, therefore, to 
surrender the city charter and to ask the Legis- 
lature to create a taxing district, perhaps the 
first venture in this country of anything ap- 
proaching a commission form of government. 
On January 29, 1879, the State Legislature re- 
pealed the city charter and established the tax- 
ing district. The Mayor and Board of Alder- 
men were abolished, and a council was substi- 
tuted, composed of three fire and police commis- 
sioners and five supervisors of public works, con- 
stituting the legislative council. All power of 
taxation was taken from the municipal govern- 
ment and was vested in the State Legislature. 
No bonds could be issued and no debts con- 
tracted beyond the limit of cash in the treasury. 
There were other similar drastic provisions. 
This unique law saved the city from the greed 
of its creditors. Compromises were later made 
of much of the heavy indebtedness. 


Then began an era of prosperity such as the 
city had not before known. A complete system 
of sewers was installed at a great cost, thus giv- 
ing the city excellent sanitation. It was discov- 
ered that a pure and practically inexhaustible 
supply of artesian water could be obtained from 
wells sunk several hundred feet in the ground. 
This system of water supply was immediately 
adopted and is still in use. 


Between 1880 and 1890 six additional rail- 
roads entered Memphis, making ten in all, thus 
establishing Memphis as one of the great railway 
centers of the country. Its population increased 
from 33,592 in 1880 to 64,586 in 1890 (see Plate 
No. 5), and its taxable values jumped from 
$12,000,000.00 to $45,000,000.00. Its debt had 
been reduced from $6,000,000.00 to $3,000,- 
000.00, and the interest on this debt was being 
met. 


Many unimproved streets were paved during 
this period. Mule cars were the means of 
transit, aided by several steam dummy lines, 


Cele Uy: 


Fe, 
O 
= 
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ay 
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cool Storer fT TZ 
__ 40000 POPULATION OF 308. 
evict THE" TOWN OF MEMPHIS” W 
wasinicovegrarcD wma | A 
PS ined eis 
SOOO 


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TWENTY) YEARS 1900 : 
REPRESENATIVE CITIES — RRO 


INDIANAPOLIS ANO 


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AL TO TH 


ERE AS AN INDICATION OF eee ae 
WHAT MAY REASONABLY BE] EXPECTED 
PHIS. IN ING YEARS 


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ad 
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Lia 


Ve \ INJI873 THE! YELLOW HEVER EPID 
A EDUCED THE POPULATION TO e 


a 8 9 


TIME VIN, “DECADES 


POPULATION GROWTH OF MEMPHIS TENNESSEE 


Plate Nd. 5. The population increase suggested above argues for anticipatory planning. 


Eee Nieeage 


BE HO, de Oy dak. Ab 


The Memphis Terminal Corporation. 


which gave quicker transportation between the 
city and its growing suburbs. 

Prior to 1890 the railroads entering Memphis 
from the west used steam transfer boats to ferry 
their trains across the river. But in 1889 work 
on a great steel cantilever bridge to span the 
Mississippi was commenced. This was completed 
in 1892 at a cost of $3,000,000.00. It is the first 
bridge above the mouth of the river. It was 
considered a masterpiece of engineering at that 
time. 

Between 1890 and 1900 Memphis had perhaps 
her greatest growth. The city limits had not 
been extended since the dismal days of the sev- 
enties. Memphis had far outgrown her con- 
stricted limits, so in 1899 the most generous and 
most regular of all her annexations was accom- 
plished, and in 1900 Memphis entered the class 
of cities of over 100,000 population. At all 
times, keeping pace with the development of 
the city, was the increase in its volume of busi- 
ness and taxable values, and of the expansion 
of its industrial, business and residential dis- 
tricts. 

In one respect particularly did Memphis fail 
to build properly. From the laying out of the 
original town in 1819 to 1899 little thought seems 
‘to have been given to the need of additional 
areas for parks and public recreational purposes. 
Much of the ground that had been set apart by 
the original proprietors for recreational purposes 
was put to other uses. Railroads were permitted 


[ 26 ] 


to aequire rights-of-way under long leases for 
the entire length of the public river front. An 
industrial district consequently grew up on land 
which should have been reserved for public 
buildings and for recreation. Fortunately, how- 
ever, some of the original ‘‘promenade’’ was de-. 
voted to public buildings, i.e., the Custom House 
and Post Office, Cossitt Library, and the Central 
Fire Station, and some has been converted into 
small parks, i.e., Confederate Park and Chicka- 
saw Park. Eventually, but not within the next 
generation, all the public grounds on the river 
front, excepting the Cossitt Library and Custom 
House sites, will revert to the city and can then 
be devoted to the public use. 

Towards the close of the nineteenth century 
there was considerable agitation for the purchase 
of ground for more public parks. This resulted 
in the Act cf 1899 authorizing Memphis to issue 
$250,000.00 in bonds for the purpose of acquir- 
ing grounds for park purposes. With this and 
other money and through donations, Overton 
and Riverside Parks and the Parkway connect- 
ing these two areas were acquired and the devel- 
opment of the park system which Memphis now 
enjoys was undertaken. 


During the decade between 1890 and 1900 
Memphis had so far recovered from her financial 
difficulties as to feel justified in asking for the 
restoration of its autonomy, which was granted 
by the Legislature, and in 1891 Memphis again 
became a city. 


Ce ae ee Pei ea NeN 


LN 


G 


COR SMa Sm Saale OPEN 


The great cotton warehouse. 


Thereafter, for nineteen years, the city was 
governed by a mayor and legislative council. 
During the last four years of this period, viz., 
from 1905 to 1909, the legislative council was 
divided into an upper and lower board, sitting 
separately, according to the Federal plan. Pur- 
suant to a demand of its citizens for a change 
in the form of municipal government, the Legis- 
lature of 1909 passed an act giving Memphis a 
commission form of government. On January 1, 
1910, this form of government went into effect, 
the City Commission being composed of a mayor 
and four other commissioners. This form of 
government proved eminently successful and it 
has been in operation continuously since, and is 
the form of government today. 


The beginning of the World War found Mem- 
phis in a most prosperous and thriving condi- 
tion. During the war, however, there was little 
building development in this community other 
than that necessitated by war conditions. The 
city experienced the business depressions which 
were common to most cities at the time. When 
restrictions were removed, however, Memphis at 
onee, with confidence in her future, began to 
renew building activity, and today the city is 
experiencing the most marked development in 
all its history. 


There have been certain developments of a 
general public nature, not strictly local to Mem- 
phis, which have contributed materially to its 
growth during the past twenty-five years. The 


territory opposite Memphis is level alluvial 
ground, unsurpassed anywhere in the world 
for fertility. In times past the annual over- 
flows of the Mississippi River inundated these 
lands and greatly reduced their value for agri- 
culture. Occasionally the watery expanse oppo- 
site Memphis would be forty miles in width. 
The citizens of eastern Arkansas recognized the 
need of reclaiming these lands. The St. Francis 
Levee District was organized and about 1895 a 
levee was built, which now protects the vast St. 
Francis basin from this menace. The security 
which these lands now enjoy has been of inesti- 
mable benefit to Memphis. 


In recent years many counties of eastern 
Arkansas have entered upon ambitious programs 
of drainage and road improvement. Drainage 
ditches were cut through lowlands and roads 
were constructed and hard-surfaced to make 
these lands aecessible. Many of these improve- 
ments have been completed, and the physical 
condition of that territory is directly reflected 
to a considerable degree in the present pros- 
perity of Memphis. 

About the same time another great railroad 
bridge was commenced across the Mississippi 
River, and this bridge was constructed with a 
free wagon way, thus giving vehicles the first 
direct means of aecess to Memphis and joining 
the city more firmly to the great alluvial trade 
territory of Arkansas. 

Just prior to the war, through traffic upon the 


[27] 


F IN A-L 


Anil Je), 12% tO). Nake Ik 


MEMPHIS # 


TENNES 


SALON Fel 


PLAN SHOWING 
PRESENT VACANT PROPERTY 
1923 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW CITY PLAN ENGINEER 
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 


BLACKENED AREAS — \\\ 
DENOTE VACANT PROPER) 


ST Mike 


Plate No. 6. Considerable areas within the city limits remain available for development. 


Mississippi River had practically ceased, except 
for a few local packets, as the great number of 
steamboats which, twenty and more years ago, 
navigated this river and its tributaries were no 
more. The great inland waterway was of little 
practical use. Its service as a carrier had been 
undermined by the widespread construction of 
railroads in the valley. Moreover, the belief had 
grown that only a sternwheel or sidewheel steam- 
boat could successfully navigate this river, as 
conditions were against a screw-propelled vessel. 


But the Federal government, through stress 
of war conditions, realized the absolute necessity 
of utilizing this great waterway for transporta- 
tion. A government barge line was therefore 
established and tradition was defied by the de- 
termination to operate towboats with screw pro- 
pellers. These boats and also others of the old 
type but modernized in design were put in serv- 


[ 28 ] 


ice, moving freight in huge quantities on the 
river. 

The government barge line on the Mississippi 
has been continued and is proving a success. 
Memphis has completed a river terminal cost- 
ing over $1,500,000.00. Barges are there moored 
alongside railroad tracks for exchange of freight. 
Foreign shipments coming into New Orleans in 
seagoing. vessels are transferred to the river 
barges and brought to Memphis for transfer 
to and further haul by railroad. Many tons 
of pipe and structural steel are received here by 
boats from the Pittsburgh district and are re- 
shipped by rail to inland points principally 
south and -west. Tobacco and tobacco products 
from Tennessee and adjoining states find an out- 
let through Memphis’ river terminal to almost 
every seaport in the world. Canned goods from 
the Pacifie coast, via the Panama Canal and New 


(Gio ae Ne Pe eA Ne INS LNs G 


CROP Mee Sas a lekOneN 


The two great bridges that link Tennessee and Arkansas. 


Orleans, are carried by water the entire route 
to Memphis. All these shipments consigned to 
inland points in this trade territory pass through 
the river terminal to the railroads for further 
transportation. The ten railroads radiating from 
Memphis have thus been linked with the great 
river for this transportation service. 

In its early history the contest between Mem- 
phis and other nearby towns was so vigorous 
that the supremacy of this community hung in 
the balance until the railroads assured its su- 
premacy. The city today is remarkably well 
supplied with railroad facilities. For the past 
twenty years the city has followed a consistent 
policy in dealing with the carriers, and has re- 
duced conflicts by a separation of grade cross- 
ings and systematic development of terminals. 

Memphis also has not neglected its interest in 
cotton. In South Memphis is the great concrete 
plant of the Memphis Terminal Corporation for 
the storage of cotton, one of the largest enter- 
prises of its kind in existence. Until the estab- 
lishment of this plant the vast amount of cotton 
that came to Memphis was stored in the city in 


open areas protected only by brick walls. In 
the cotton season these warehouses would be 
filled and the excess bales would be stacked high 
on the sidewalks. This was a great fire menace 
and placed a heavy burden of traffic on the 
streets in draying the cotton to and from the 
warehouses. The new cotton terminal has now 
corrected all this and placed Memphis at the 
very front of Southern cities as a cotton center. 

The progressiveness of Memphis is further 
illustrated by the accomplishment in recent 
years of certain general municipal improvements 
that are almost unique. 


The protection of the St. Francis basin along 
the west side of the Mississippi River opposite 
Tennessee caused the flood plane in the river to 
be raised at Memphis approximately ten feet. 
In 1897 the spring rise in the river, which estab- 
lished a height record, caused little inconven- 
ience in the city, as only a small amount of ter- 
ritory was overflowed, and this was near the 
mouth of Bayou Gayoso, the main natural drain 
for the city’s surface water. In 1912 and 1913, 
the flood height of the river having been greatly 


[ 29 ] 


eee Ne Ag 


Hy 1a, Ae Oy Tay IR 


increased, the great floods of those years caused 
backwater from the Mississippi to rise high in 
Bayou Gayoso and to extend well into the low- 
lands bordering the bayou. Many acres of these 
lowlands were flooded, causing great inconven- 
ience to the inhabitants of those sections and 
also interrupting street traffic for several weeks 
in the district affected. 

So, with characteristic energy, Memphis im- 
mediately made plans to protect itself against 
this menace. The waters of Bayou Gayoso were 
diverted into the river at two points by long 
tunnels under the business district, thus leav- 
ing but little water to find an outlet through 
the mouth of the bayou. In addition a levee 
was built along the river front in the neighbor- 
hood of the bayou’s mouth, and the bayou itself 
was protected by flood-gates, thus preventing 
water from the Mississippi River entering the 
city. To eare for the water draining through 
the mouth of the bayou during flood stage, im- 
mense pumps were installed to lift this water 
into the river. This entire work cost $1,500,000, 
which was defrayed by a bond issue. 

The situation of Memphis on the Mississippi 
River opposite the State of Arkansas, and the 
great floods which pass down that river annually, 
present another situation that is peculiar to this 
city. Memphis, being built upon a bluff, is fully 
seventy-five feet above the level alluvial ground 
on the Arkansas shore. The St. Francis levee 
opposite Memphis is far back from the river and 
this vast intervening area is subject to annual 
overflow to a depth of ten feet or more. From 


Wooden viaduct spanning Arkansas lowlands between 
river and levee, to be replaced with concrete viaduct. 


[ 30 ] 


the end of the Harahan bridge wagonway where 
it reaches the level in Arkansas to the levee is 
about two miles. To connect its concrete road 
system behind the levee with the Harahan 
bridge, Crittenden County, Arkansas, some years 
ago built a wooden viaduct well above over- 
flow stage, and this viaduct carries an immense 
amount of traffic. Being the most southerly 
crossing by bridge of the Mississippi River, four 
national highways are planned to cross the river 
here. The wooden viaduct has about lived its 
day and plans are now well under way to re- 
place it with a concrete viaduct that will cost 
$1,000,000. Memphis, fully appreciating the 
great benefit this permanent structure will be 
to it commercially, under legislative authority 
has voted to stand one-fourth its cost, although 
it will be entirely in Arkansas. One-half the 
cost is to be borne by Federal aid and the re- 
maining one-fourth by the citizens of Arkansas 
in some manner. 

Mention must be made of the Tri-State Fair 
held every fall in Memphis. This city is the 
center of a great trade territory comprised of 
West Tennessee, North Mississippi and East 
Arkansas. The fair has been held for years in 
what was old Montgomery Park, where running 
horse races were held in the days of the legality 
of that sport in Tennessee. In 1912 this tract 
of 115 acres, with a large steel grandstand, was 
purchased by the city and was made a part of 
its park system, but without displacing its use 
for the fair. Recently Shelby County and the 
city both obtained legislative authority to issue 


Concrete road at end of wooden viaduct in Arkansas. 


Clay. Pee AN Ne LaeN G, 


(CWE ACS BS Uk OD il 


DISTRIBUTION 
OF 
POPULATION 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW = CITY PLAN ENGINEER 
1923 


NOTE =- 
EACH DOT REPRESENTS 
TWENTYFIVE PERSONS. 


Plate No. 7. The uneven distribution of population can become a serious menace to the 
welfare of the city. 


bonds for the erection of permanent buildings 
for the use of the fair, and these very commodi- 
ous buildings have now been built and are in 
actual use. In addition this property through- 
out the year is used as a recreation center. 


-In the period following 1910 and prior to the 
World War much prestige was added to Mem- 
phis by the building of two handsome union 
railroad stations, which serve all the railroads 
entering the city, and by the location of the 
West Tennessee Normal School, a state institu- 
tion, just beyond the eastern limits of the city. 


The dream of its early citizens that Memphis 
should become a gateway to the Pacific coast 
finally became a reality on December 29, 1923, 
when through passenger service was commenced 
between that city and Los Angeles, California, 
via the Rock Island and Southern Pacifie Rail- 
roads. The hope of Memphis today is for a 


~ 


through passenger service from the Atlantic sea- 
board to the West coast via the Memphis gate- 
way, this route being the most direct one to 
Southern California and being practically free 
of winter snows. 


The future for Memphis is filled with promise. 
The railroads centering here will always insure 
her a great commerce. The revival of freight 
transportation upon the Mississippi River will 
materially add to this activity. The drainage 
and road development in the territory contigu- 
ous to Memphis will add greatly to her trade. 
With her transportation facilities and her cen- 
tral location, Memphis is being recognized as a 
strategie distribution center. 


In view of the location of Memphis and the 
material resources of its adjoining territory, it 
is reasonable to assume that the city will con- 


[ 31 } 


He DaNge sgl 


Int J5, Te) tay Ab 


tinue to enjoy a steady and substantial growth. 
Obviously, greater Memphis cannot for long be 
contained within the boundaries of the present 
city. The future should be anticipated and a 
broader view of the city’s possibilities should be 
taken. The city must plan to correct its physi- 
eal deficiencies and co-ordinate its future devel- 
opment and expansion in accordance with a 
comprehensive and thoroughly studied scheme. 

A definite policy for all future development 


should be adopted and adhered to. All publie 
work should be done in accordance with a city 
plan, which should make ample provisions for 
the expansion of commerce, industry and resi- 
dences, without waste, undue expense and de- 
preciation of property values. Only by such 
far-sighted and comprehensive planning can the 
city hope to enjoy a systematic and economical 
growth and promote the comfort and conven- 
ience of all its citizens. 


ye ae 


The Memphis wharf. 


Coe ae Ley: le AGN NGL eNG Gr CC; (OY AME AE A Sy Sy Le K@ any 


MAJOR STREETS 


ern city, is increasing in volume and importance 
beyond all expectations. The dependence of the 
city upon this flow is becoming more and more 
There is a realization of the impor- 


NE of the primary responsibilities of any 
city that expects to grow and prosper is 
to develop opportunities for better circu- 
lation. Traffic, the life flow of the mod- pronounced. 


MEMPHIS TENNESSEE 
EVOLUTION OF THE MAJOR STREET PLAN 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW CITY PLAN ENGINEER SAINT LOUIS , MO. 


PLAN SHOWING . nit : i = ie PLAN SHOWING 
EXISTING STREETS HW on | ) EXISTING STREETS 
iil rs j J USED AS MAJOR 

} STREETS 


PLAN SHOWING \ - T | I 
PROPOSED oo = Lar ! PLAN SHOWING 
MAJOR STREET 


= 


MAJOR STREETS 


AND EXTENSIONS OF | 2M - me / 
\ wre \ | Od j SYSTEM 


ITT m\eN 
Ty 
He 


Plate No. 8. Showing the manner in which the existing street arrangement has been systematized. 


[33 ] 


TIN Sea 


R Eee OTR! 


tance of circulation in Memphis and a desire to 
improve and modernize the traffic arteries of the 
city. 


The streets of Memphis, generally speaking, 
were not built for the service that is demanded 
of them today. Their common faults are: 


Lack of system. 
Unsatisfactory crosstown routes. 
Inadequate width on strategic thoroughfares. 


Jogs and dead ends on should be 
‘tthrough’’ streets. 


what 


The effect of these deficiencies is to handicap 
and retard that free flow of vehicles which is 


Ee al 


SCALE 


VARIATIONS IN TRAFFIC CAPACITY 


ON ‘ 


EXISTING RADIAL STREETS 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW 


< 
9 
a 
E| 
z 


Plate No. 9. 


MADISON 


UNION 


The irregularity of street development:in the past cannot be better shown. 


essential to the upbuilding of a larger, stronger 
city. 

Lack of system prevents approach with equal 
facility to all parts of the city. The streets of 
the first original town (Plate No. 3) now serving 
the central business district are the only ones 
which form a co-ordinated system. This fact is 
responsible in large measure for the continued 
ability of these traffic ways of early origin to 
serve the needs of present-day Memphis. More 
recently laid out streets are unusually haphazard 
in arrangement. 


Absence of good erosstown routes likewise pre- 
vents proper intercourse between districts. 
Memphis suffers particularly from this handi- 


LEGEND 

- THREE LINES OF VEHICLES. 
~ FOUR LINES OF VEHICLES 
- SIX LINES OF VEHICLES. 
-EIGHT LINES OF VEHICLES 


These 


arteries should all be wider. 


[ 34 ] 


Calatvey: 


BSLSACNGNeIEN G 


COMMIS STON 


STREETS SIXTY-SIX FEET 
WIDE AND OVER 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEV 
CITY PLAN  ENGINEERL 


LEGEND ) 
STREETS 66 FEET WIDE =——> }}\\ 
STREETS OVER 66FEET WIDE mmm |})) 

com fi 


PARJOVAY 
JOGS ° | 
DEAD ENDS . p) 


Plate No. 10. Another illustration of the disregard of traffic needs in determining street widths. 


cap. The city has not a single north and south 
thoroughfare that is both continuous and ade- 
quate in width. MeLean Boulevard, which is 
generally considered to be the most satisfactory, 
is three miles east of Main Street and is fifty 
feet wide throughout a considerable portion of 
its length. The lack of suitable east and west 
crosstown streets above and below the business 
center is equally serious. 

Inadequacies of width further lessen the value 
of the streets of Memphis. The routes of old 
roads and trails which in the early days con- 
nected the settlement with the surrounding coun- 
try have fortunately been fairly well preserved. 
They appear as radiating arteries in the street 
plan, affording practically direct approach to 
what is now the heart of the city. 


Instead of being commodious traffic ways, 
however, these radial arteries are mostly nar- 
row, with many angles. Several carry car 
lines. The variations in their traffic-carrying 
capacity may be seen in Plate No. 9. Lamar 
Boulevard, or Pigeon Roost Road, is the only 
one that shows marked uniformity in width. 
The capacity of Jackson Avenue and Mississippi 
Avenue varies often within the city limits. Sim- 
ilar inadequacies and variations in width occur 
also on many other streets of major importance 
in the city. The haphazard location of the few 
wide streets is well shown in Plate No. 10. 

Jogs or offsets in streets and abrupt endings 
further retard traffic movement. Plate No. 10 
shows the prevalence of these obstacles. Their 
effect upon the development of the city would 


[ 35 ] 


r 


He ieeN AR 


perhaps be favorable if they always came upon 
local or minor residential streets, for they would 
then tend to preserve the character of these dis- 
tricts. As the plate referred to above shows, 
however, they occur upon traffie ways of all 
types. Many streets that should be thorough- 
fares in every sense of the word have numerous 
jogs throughout their length and end ultimately 
at a cross street, railroad yard or other obstacle. 

Practically all the faulty streets with which 
Memphis today finds itself provided and trying 
to grow upon have developed through short- 
sightedness. City officials and citizens generally 
in the past have failed notably to appreciate the 
city’s opportunities for future growth. Those 
who have laid out land subdivisions have been 
particularly negligent in considering the inter- 
ests of the community at large. Immediate re- 
turns from sale of the land was the main con- 
sideration, and the city had no guiding plan 
which might be followed even if a land sub- 
divider did evince an interest in the larger 
community. Land has been subdivided accord- 
ing to the owner’s ideas, and streets as opened, 
whether wide or narrow, continuous or broken, 
have been forced to serve any and all purposes. 
The consequences of this haphazard, irresponsi- 
ble method of building up the street system are 
seen in: 


(1) Unsymmetrical city growth. 


(2) Abnormal property values. 
(3) Improper street car routings. 
(4) Congestion. 

(5) Retarded traffic movement. 
(6)  Aeceidents. 


(7) Abuse of pavements. 


Wide, direct thoroughfares like Poplar Boule- 
vard and Union and Peabody Avenues are en- 


Jay 15; 12 20 IR th 


couraging the dominant growth eastward. Lack 
ot similar streets has diverted development from 
other sections none the less suitable for residen- 
tial use. The differences which prevail between 
property values upon the streets mentioned and 
others just as favorably situated, but narrower 
and less active, prove the disadvantages of hap- 
hazard determination of street widths. The 
proper routing of street cars likewise becomes 
difficult where an unsystematie street layout 
must be used. The ear lines of Memphis have 
been placed upon the most suitable streets avail- 
able for purposes of reaching certain districts, 
regardless of the traffic capacity of the streets 
or the consequent effect upon vehicular traffic. 
Evidences of congestion and retarded traffic 
movement, due to other causes, need not be fur- 
ther detailed here. The hazards of the streets 
likewise are apparent to anyone who walks or 
drives. Sharp turns, narrow roadways and ob- 
structed vision all contribute to the number of 
accidents occurring upon the highways in the 
city. The lack of wide, direct arteries to certain 
sections also causes a shifting of vehicular flow 
and consequent abuse of pavements on streets 
not designed to carry a ‘‘through’’ movement. 

These faulty traffie ways undoubtedly retard 
the progress of Memphis and reduce its effec- 
tiveness as a commercial and industrial center. 
The defects of its streets are not generally 
superficial. They are basic weaknesses in the 
street structure. They introduce uncertainties 
into the upbuilding of the city. They handicap 
the flow of traffic, which in turn affects prop- 
erty values, business and industrial development, 
and practically every other phase of city life. 
In order to be assured of more effective future 
growth, Memphis must systematically correct 
these deficiencies of its streets. 


Memphis as seen from the Mississippi River. The river early influenced the development of the city. 


[ 36 ] 


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MEMPHIS 


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PROPOSED 
MAJOR STREET SYSTEM 


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CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW CITY PLAN ENGINEER. 
1922 


LEGEND 
STREETS OF 
SUFFICIENT WIDTH 
STREETS TO 
BE WIDENED — 


PROPOSED EXTENSIONS 
AND CONNECTIONS 


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Plate No. 11. A system of heavy-duty trafficways. The guide for future street improvements and the opening of new thoroughfares. eet 


Gal icny 


Peta eNe Ne le Ne G 


GOUM M ItS: Sl ON 


A Magsgor STREET PLAN 


A major street plan is suggested, therefore, 
as a means of co-ordinating all future improve- 
ments in the circulation system of Memphis. 
Existing streets have been surveyed and their 
imperfections and deficiencies analyzed. The 
traffic requirements of a city twice as large as 
the present city have been computed and applied 
to the formulation of a system of major traffic 
ways. The resulting plan, as may be seen in 
Plates No. 8 and No. 11, is a scheme of thorough- 
fares, or heavy-duty major streets, serving all 
parts of the city and so planned as to be readily 
extended and enlarged as the city grows. The 
scheme of streets thus devised lends itself to 
systematic analysis. 


The central business district is assumed as the 
principal objective of traffic. The entire frame- 
work of streets serving this section is accepted 
practically as it stands. Many of the streets 
are inadequate in width and are overloaded, but 
eannot be materially increased in carrying ¢a- 
pacity except at great cost. The major street 
plan, therefore, proposes only such improve- 
ments as will bring more of these streets into 
service. 

The aim of the plan is to organize the circu- 
lation system so that each traffie way serving 
the heart of the city may attract and carry its 
proper share of the vehicular flow. It was pro- 
posed that Front, Second and Third Streets be 
widened in sections and connected so that they 
will serve as relief streets for Main Street, all 


Second Street, south from Talbot Avenue, before 
improvement. 


of which has been done. A glance at the central 
district plan (Plate No. 12) will show these ree- 
ommendations in detail. It will be noted also 
that east and west streets are all linked by short 
connections with the principal arteries. Traffic 
entering the city via Poplar Boulevard, for in- 
stance, instead of forming a stream of increasing 
volume on this one artery, should be offered a 
choice of routes. Washington Avenue and Ala- 
bama Street are both planned to serve as tribu- 
taries of Poplar Boulevard and relieve the latter 
of a portion of its traffic load. Note also the split- 
ting of Jefferson Avenue at Adams Avenue, the 
diversions on Union Avenue, and the choice of 
routes available to Lamar Boulevard traffic. 
Only a few inexpensive connections are needed 
to bring many otherwise first-class streets into 
service as diversion routes. The resulting diffu- 
sion and distribution of traffic through the busi- 
ness center will lessen congestion and defer the 
need of expensive widenings on the principal 
arteries. 

Beyond the central area the major streets may 
be classified as of two types: (1) Radials or 
arteries connecting the heart of the city more 
or less directly with surrounding country; (2) 
crosstown routes and secondary major streets 
supplementary to them. As they exist at pres- 
ent the principal radials do not all afford equal 
facility of approach to the center. Most of these 
highways in width and alignment adequately 
reflect their early origin. They are the most 
important elements of the structure of streets 
serving Memphis and the least modern. A pro- 


New Second Street, looking south at Talbot Avenue 
toward Union Station. (Old street on right.) 


[ 37] 


PaleNeAgE igh 18; 122 (@) a Uk 


from North Memphis 
through the business 
district and south to 
Carolina Street. 
CHELSEA AVENUE is the 
route of New Raleigh road 
into Memphis. Its western 
end is Second Street. The 
width of this street varies 
from forty to fifty feet, 
and it carries a ear line 
throughout practically its 
entire length. Its inade- 
quacies are obvious. In- 
stead of attracting and 
carrying an increased vol- 
ume of traffic, it is avoided 
by vehicles. A large portion of the load which 
Chelsea Avenue should bear is thus thrown upon 
other streets. Plans for increasing the width of 
this highly important traffic way should be made. 
One hundred feet is the minimum that should 
be considered. ; 


Second Street at Beale Avenue, showing conditions 
before correction of jog. 


gram of widening, reconstruction and 
improvement should be outlined for 
all these arteries. 


PRINCIPAL RADIAL STREETS 


SECOND STREET connects with an 
important county highway on _ the 
north and extends south- 
ward through the business 
district to Beale Ave- 
nue with a width of 
sixty-six feet. South 
of Beale Avenue it 
has a width of only 
forty feet. The elim- 
ination of the jog in 
Second Street at 
Beale Avenue and the 
widening and paving 
of Second Street 
south of Beale Ave- 
nue is about com- 
pleted, according to z 
the plan shown in 3 
Plate No. 136 liens 
also recommended 
that north of Chelsea CH ieee 


oooolL] 


| 
INECTION 8. 


NEW) Ci 


Avenue, Main Street iti 

and Third Street be 

connecred) Wwithiesec-y ee CAUROUN ——_AVER 

ond Street. The de- PLAN SHOWING 

velopment of this irra atid 

thoroughfare Oot eee 

as planned will open Plaid eee eer leoheotive 

a continuous route project nearing completion. New Second Street, looking north from Calhoun Avenue. 


[ 38 ] 


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SEIS, fh 
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PROPOSED & COMPLETED IMPROVE 


Poerrrerrrery 
te aeceneeeee 


= PROPOSED BOULEVARDE 
s= BOULEVARDS COMPLETED 
naa EXISTING PARKS 
ra PROPOSED PARKS 
FRACK ELEVATIONS & ¥ 


PLAN SHOWING 


xs 


of THE CENTRAL SECTION oF: 
MEMPHIS ~ TENN 


CITY \PLANNING \ ». 


HARLAND BARTHOLO a 
EOMNLS & L.DIILTON Ask 
WM.D.HUDSON — Eneibel\\ 


LEGEND 


MAJOR STREETS OF sub, 
MAJOR STREETS TO BH 
PROPOSED EXTENSIONS 
MAJOR STREETS COMPLE | Ds fea Uj, y Se CTHAP Dery. 
1923-1924 MAJOR STREET IMP I) iif Pd M7 psd : A Ga yes a 


EXISTING BOULEVARDS }| 


W 


SUBWAYS 
PROPOSED RAILROAD Ww GAO GUNEE YY Y lj ORG Zi) ee ZZ) — 
PUBLIC BUILDINGS Y fs v/; V Py HN me MNCGE*Beo 2 Z 


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Plate No. 12. The accomplishments in carrying out the major street plan are shown. The city has made remarkable progress in correcting the deficiencies in certain streets primarily to 
relieve traffic congestion. 


Cr TOL EY: 


Eee Na Nee Lee Na Gy 


CEORMeE Ma SSL ON 


JACKSON AVENUE is similar in many respects 
to Chelsea Avenue. Its traffic-carrying capacity 
also varies, as may be seen in Plate No. 9. Its 
width, instead of being fifty-five feet for two 
blocks, then sixty, then sixty-six, and again 
fifty-five for half a mile, should be uniformly 
100 feet or greater. The right-of-way for this 
widening has already been provided over much 
of this thoroughfare by contracts to dedi- 
eate on the part of the landowners. In _ the 
major street structure shown in Plate No. 11 
such arteries as Jackson Avenue should stand 
out as the strongest members. 

PorLaR BOULEVARD is a more modern street 
than those noted above. It now has a width of 
100 feet between Tucker and Watkins Streets. 
This width is justified now on that portion of 
the street where it occurs. The same capacity 
is even more necessary as the business district 
is approached, yet here the width of Poplar 
Boulevard becomes sixty feet. The entire thor- 
oughfare should be at least 100 feet wide. 

Union AVENUE at present carries a greater 
volume of traffic than any other east-and-west 
street in Memphis. Its location, directness, width 
and good pavement have attracted a large vol- 
ume of traffic. This street was once narrow like 
many others in Memphis, but property owners 
voluntarily increased its width to eighty feet 
between East Street and McLean Boulevard. 

The old width was retained west of Marshall 
Avenue and has only recently through munici- 
pal action been increased. The street car tracks 
have been removed and Unicn Avenue now may 


be classed as the city’s finest and most modern 
traffic way. 

The complete development of Union Avenue, 
however, will not be effected until it is made a 
continuous thoroughfare beyond the eastern city 
limits. As may be seen in Plate No. 44, it is 
proposed that Union Avenue and Walnut Grove 
Road be joined and the entire route considered 
a part of the pleasure drive system of Memphis. 
Traffic regulations should be enforced upon this 
artery for the purpose of facilitating vehicular 
movement throughout its great length. 

LAMAR-SOMERVILLE-LINDEN AVENUE is a traf- 
fic artery of great usefulness. Its significance 
in the circulation system appeared early in the 
studies of major streets. It has a uniform width 
of eighty feet for a considerable distance within 
the city, which is none too wide for a thorough- 
fare of this type. Between Somerville Street 
and Bellevue Boulevard its width is sixty-six 
feet. Beyond the city limits the highway is 
sixty feet wide. 

The most serious handicap to the efficiency of 
Lamar Boulevard, however, was its awkward 
terminus. It once came directly into the heart 
of Memphis, but through unregulated land plat- 
ting the route was obliterated west of Somerville 
Street, leaving traffic to find its way by twists 
and turns into the central section. 

This unfavorable condition has lately been 
removed. In accordance with plans presented 
with the preliminary report on major streets 
(Plate No. 14), the Lamar Boulevard route has 
been extended via Somerville Street and Linden 


Union Avenue, west of Marshall Avenue, before widening. 


Union Avenue, west of Marshall Avenue, after widening 
and removal of street car tracks. 


[ 39 | 


Tiel eNGeAe 12 


Jae deh de OO) oR. SAE 


MYRTLE STREET 


Avenue eighty feet wide to Walnut Street. 
Through the completion of the subway at the 
Southern Railroad crossing on Linden Avenue 
west of Walnut Street, and through the removal 
of the street car tracks on Linden Avenue from 
Lauderdale Street to Main Street, this thorough- 
fare has been made continuous for automobile 
traffic from Lamar Boulevard to Main Street. 
The ultimate width of eighty feet for Linden 
Avenue between Walnut Street and Main Street 
is to be secured through a setback ordinance. 

It remains now for the city to complete the 
improvement of this artery by widening it to 
100 feet beyond Somerville Street, where the 
presence of the car line makes this widening 
essential. 


Mississrpp1 AVENUE is seareely less important 
than Lamar Boulevard as a thoroughfare reach- 
ing into the country. Its narrow width and un- 
satisfactory terminus in the city, however, have 
seriously reduced its efficiency. This street needs 
widening badly and should be extended to meet 
Vanee Avenue. The latter improvement will 
permit traffic entering Memphis over Mississippi 


2 


SE os alt 


\M ARO 


Somerville Street, north of Lamar Boulevard, before it 
was made a major thoroughfare. 


{ 40 J 


COSSITT 


raat: 


Somerville Street as a modern trafficway, the connecting 
link between Lamar Boulevard and Linden Avenue. 


Avenue to flow directly into the four principal 
business streets, Front, Main, Second and Third. 

LAUDERDALE-SEVENTH-THOMAS STREETS—Lau- 
derdale Street is a very important radial thor 
oughfare, affording direct connection between 
the industries south of the city limits and 
the business districts. At present it terminates 
on the north at Poplar Boulevard. It is pro- 
posed to extend Lauderdale Street from Adams 
Avenue northward, following the course of 
Bayou Gayoso (which will necessitate a slight 
change in location between Adams Avenue and 
Poplar Boulevard) to an intersection with Sev- 
enth Street (as shown on Plate No. 15), and 
that this continuous thoroughfare be given a 
uniform width of eighty feet from its extreme 
southern terminus northwardly to Chelsea Ave- 
nue. North of Chelsea Avenue a width of sixty- 
six feet for Seventh Street would be adequate. 
A cut-off should be made at Seventh Street and 
Chelsea Avenue to afford a connection between 
Seventh and Thomas Streets, which latter now 
has a ear line and is only sixty feet wide. It 


(Ge ME Ws ye Pei AceN Nee leN | G 


COR MatIee Sans alee OREN 


STREET 


Plate No. 14. One of the most extensive improvement 


projects completed to date. 


PAULINE 


Linden Avenue was a very uninviting street in 1922. 


should have a width of at least eighty feet. The 
proposed Lauderdale Street connection is very 
essential and can be made at a reasonable cost. 
At present there is no direct crosstown connec- 
tion in the area between Third Street on the 
west and Manassas Street on the east. This ex- 
tension would be a link in a very desirable con- 
nection between two important radials, Lamar 
Boulevard and Jackson Avenue, with their many 
tributaries. 

FrLorma-FRontT STREETS, if connected as shown 
on Plate No. 16, would form a continuous route 
serving the business center from the south. This 
artery on the west, like Second Street on the 
east, will afford great relief for Main Street. 
Front Street now has a width of eighty-two and 
one-half feet south to Union Avenue and earries 
easily six lines of vehicles. The same width 


I 
a 
ie 
: 


PLAN SHOWING 


VANCE AVENUE 


STREET 


SCALE IN FEET 


PEABODY 


LEGEND 


SOMERVILLE 


FRAME BUILDINGS 


tf 
| 


a 


Linden Avenue, looking east from Orleans Street, after 
improvement, showing separation of railroad 
grade crossing by subway. 


LINDEN AND SOMERVILLE. 
IMPROVEMENT 


FROM LAMAR BOULEVARD TO ORLEANS STREET, 


BRICK AND STONE BUILDINGS AW 


Be eaN GAS Reb ees Oneal, 


LEGEND 


The completed Somerville-Linden connection. 


should prevail throughout the entire length of 
this traffic way. The portion of Florida Street 
so used should be not less than 100 feet wide. 
It is now in places fifty and sixty feet in width 
and heavily used, carrying a ear line. 


CROSSTOWN TRAFFIC WAYS 


nu 
re) 
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fe) 
55 
za 
29 
: 
a 


Co-ordinated with the principal radial arteries 
is planned a regular system of crosstown traffic 
ways. These major streets have generally been 
developed from varying lengths of existing north 
and south and east and west streets. It has not 
been possible in all instances to suggest connec- 
tions that will produce a complete system of 
satisfactory crosstown routes. The elimination 
of many jogs is called for and practically all 


NORTH LAUDERDALE STREET 
FROM ADAMS AVE. TO JACKSON AVE. 


A much-needed new street which can be built over Bayou Gayoso. 


Plate No. 15. 


Approximate point where extension of North Lauderdale 
Street will meet Jackson Avenue. 


Ces Lae 


Pee at ACeeNG Ng Loe Nee Gi 


Ce Om M 


Route of proposed extension of North Lauderdale Street 
over Bayou Gayoso. 


routes of this type will eventually need widen- 
ing. The crosstown major street system is com- 
posed of the following existing streets: 


East and West Avenues 


Manitory AVENUE, if extended and widened 
as proposed, could be made a good east and west 
thoroughfare south of the city. It would not be 
difficult to increase its width to at least eighty 
feet, as the territory which it now traverses is, 
in most part, undeveloped. 

DUNN AVENUE is a crosstown street of sec- 
ondary importance. It should be developed as 
shown on the major street plan and widened to 
eighty feet. 

McGEnHee - Person - FizeErR AVENUES: These 
streets at present vary in width from twenty 


Es 


Union Avenue, west from Camilla Street, formerly good 
residence street, now appropriated for auto business. 


STREET AND FLORIDA STREET 
AT GEORGIA AV. 


Scole in feet 


CONNECTION OF FRONT 


PLAN SHOWING 


N 


1 
| 


LEGEND 
Frame Buildings El 


Brick Bullings WY 


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SECTION A-B 


SECTION C-D 


a 


Vide 


a. 


Scale 10 to F 


A proposal designed to make Front Street a thoroughfare. 


Plate No. 16. 


[43] 


EP INP AR IG 


igh 18, 12? (Oh Tak 1h 


to sixty feet. They should be connected and 
given a width of eighty feet. Such a width 
would be easily obtainable, as these streets now 
pass through undeveloped territory. 

Kerr-DEADRICK-PAaRK AVENUES: Kerr Ave- 
nue is now an eastern extension of South Park- 
way west of Victor Street. It should be con- 
nected with Deadrick Avenue and extended 
eastward to connect with Park Avenue, as shown 
on the major street plan. These streets now 
have a width of forty feet. A minimum width 
of eighty feet is recommended. 

TricG-CARNES AVENUES: The connection and 
widening of these streets would create a very 
desirable thoroughfare between the southwestern 
industrial distriect-and the residential areas in 
the eastern part of the city. At present there 
is no connection between Carnes Avenue and 
Trigg Avenue over the Frisco Railroad. Carnes 
Avenue should be extended westward over the 
Frisco tracks and a connection made with both 
Trigg Avenue and McLemore Avenue, as shown 
on the major street plan. Trigg Avenue now 
has a car line for part of its distance, and it is 
recommended that these streets be given a mini- 
mum width of eighty feet. 

McLEMoRE-SOUTHERN AVENUES now form 
practically a continuous east and west thorough- 
fare. A short extension of McLemore Avenue 
west of Willett Street, recommended on the 
major street plan, has been made. It is recom- 
mended that both McLemore and Southern Ave- 
nues be made eighty feet wide. 

CoLorADO AVENUE is a short street varying in 


Union Avenue at Ford Assembly Plant, 1922. 


pad 


width from forty to fifty feet. It should have 
a uniform width of sixty-six feet. 

WALKER AVENUE, as a major street, extends 
from Rayburn Boulevard on the west to Belle- 
vue Boulevard on the east. Its present width 
is but fifty feet; this, however, would suffice if 
it were not for the fact that it carries a car line 
for part of its length. A width of at least sixty- 
six feet could probably be obtained here without 
involving damages to abutting improvements. 
Walker Avenue, commencing again east of the 
railroads, by recent improvement was made con- 
tinuous to East Parkway, furnishing an ap- 
proach to the Fair Grounds. 

YounG AVENUE carries a car line and serves 
as an approach to the Fair Grounds. Its value 
as a major street would be improved by connect- 
ing it with Vesey Avenue. Young Avenue would 
then become a tributary of Lamar Boulevard, 
and if it were widened to a minimum of eighty 
feet would permit of a more systematic routing 
of street cars to the Fair Grounds. 

IowA-SLEDGE-CENTRAL AVENUES AND CONNEC- 
TIONS: One of the most obvious needs in street 
improvements in Memphis is a connection be- 
tween the southeastern and southwestern parts 
of the city. In no better way could this be 
accomphshed than by connecting Iowa Avenue 
with Central Avenue. Iowa Avenue is a wide 
and important street in the west, and Central 
Avenue, in the east, is one of the few existing 
streets having a width of eighty feet. It would 
be possible to connect these streets by linking 
them with Porter and Sledge Streets, as shown 


Union Avenue at Ford Assembly Plant, 1924, showing 
new traffic capacity. 


Cree les yi 


PEA INN’ tN 


G Ci OD WP ME LS SS OY Ny 


on the major street plan. A connection across 
the Southern Railway could be made without 
disturbing any of the present industries, and by 
connecting with Porter Street it could utilize 
the present grade separation under Railroad 
Avenue. The presence of car lines on some of 
these streets will necessitate a minimum width 
of eighty feet throughout. 


CAROLINA-GEORGIA AVENUES: If connected, 
widened and extended across the Southern Rail- 
way to connect with Lamar Boulevard, these 
streets would also make the industrial district 
north of Railroad Avenue accessible from the 
residential areas in the east and _ southeast. 
These streets should also have a width of eighty 
feet. A minor connection between Harbert Ave- 
nue and Lamar Boulevard connecting with this 
proposed new extension has been completed. 

CALHOUN-StT. Paut-Carr AVENUES: Only a 
short connection across the Southern Railway 
tracks would be necessary to afford direct access 
from the entire southeastern part of the city to 
the two railroad passenger stations via Lamar, 
Carr, St. Paul and Calhoun Avenues. It is pos- 
sible that some day these streets may accommo- 
date a car line. Hence it is recommended that 
St. Paul and Carr Avenues be given a width of 


PLAN SHOWING 


EXTENSION OF GAYOSO AVEN 


eighty feet, and Calhoun Avenue a width of at 
least 100 feet. 


BuTLER AVENUE is a short street extending 
between Front Street and Mississippi Avenue. 
Its present width of sixty and seventy feet will 
be adequate. 

VANCE-PEABODY AVENUES: Vance Avenue 
west of the proposed Mississippi Avenue exten- 
sion should be given a width of 100 feet, equal 
to the proposed width of Mississippi Avenue. 
East of the Mississippi Avenue extension Vance 
Avenue should be given a width of eighty feet 
and be connected with Peabody Avenue at East 
Street by means of a curve. Peabody Avenue 
now has a sufficient width of eighty feet as 
far east as McLean Boulevard. East of Mc- 
Lean Boulevard, Peabody Avenue should be 
widened and extended from Cooper Street to 
East Parkway, with a uniform width of eighty 
feet throughout, this being the minimum width 
for a major street carrying a car line. 

BEALE AVENUE: Its present width of sixty 
feet should prove adequate. On the east it 
should have a connection with Union Avenue 
via Manassas Street, as suggested on the major 
street plan. 

Gayoso AVENUE is a short but very good street 


FROM WELLINGTON TO LINDEN 


LEGEND 
SCALL IN FLEY = 5 BRICK BUILDINGS 


| FRAME BUILDINGS 


q 2 
OW \c 


S WELLINGTON 


Plate No. 17. This connection is needed to complete the 


new Linden Avenue thoroughfare. 


om 


oan ‘\ 
no + 


[ 45 ] 


AE Ie Fy AY, 


in the business district. At present it terminates 
on the east at Wellington Street. It is proposed 
to connect Gayoso Avenue with Linden Avenue 
at Cynthia Street by a connection which is to 
largely utilize Lemoyne Bayou (Plate No. 17). 
The practicability of this improvement, however, 
will depend upon the improvement of the bayou, 
which from the health standpoint should be eul- 
verted as soon as possible. Should this extension 
be made, it would afford a very desirable con- 
nection with Linden Avenue and thence to La- 
mar Boulevard. It would be financially prohibi- 
tive to widen Gayoso Avenue now west of See- 
ond Street, where it is very narrow, because of 
the substantial character of the present build- 
ings. East of Second Street, Gayoso Avenue 
varies in width from forty to fifty feet. By the 
applieation of a setback ordinance immediately, 
an ultimate width of sixty-six feet should be 
provided for Gayoso Avenue between Second 
Street and Wellington Street. 


Monroe AVENUE has a width of sixty-six feet, 
extending from Front Street to Marshall Ave- 
nue, and serves as a tributary to Union Avenue. 
Its present width should prove ample, as it is 
not likely to carry a ear line. 


MapIson AVENUE, if properly developed, will 
undoubtedly become a very important east and 
west thoroughfare. Its present width varies 
from fifty to seventy-five feet. A minimum 
width of 100 feet east of Fourth Street to a 
connection with Poplar Boulevard on the east 
will be none too great for future traffic. West 
of Fourth Street the development along Madison 


ReESPeOLR 


STREET 


H | 
S Jil | 
= (TI |, | | LIL 1 weenie 
Plate No. 18. The first major street development 
project. 


Avenue is such that it would be impracticable 
to get this width. 


ADAMS-JEFFERSON AVENUES have already been 
connected according to Plan No. 18. It is still 
necessary, in order to develop the full useful- 
ness of Jefferson Avenue, to extend it through 
the Southern Yards and to the east as shown. 
This work is now under way. A sixty-six feet 
width would suffice for both these thoroughfares. 


WASHINGTON AVENUE now renders little serv- 
ice in carrying east and west traffic. It should 
be connected with Poplar Boulevard and widened 
to sixty-six feet west of Manassas Street. (Plan 
ING7195) 

OxrorD-HOLMES AVENUES AND CONNECTIONS: 
Because of the location of these streets they may 
eventually carry a street car line; hence they 
should be given a width of at least eighty feet 
and be connected with Poplar Boulevard at the 
southeast corner of Overton Park, as shown on 
the major street plan. 

LANE-OVERTON Park AVENUES: Though this 
is a short street, terminating at Overton Park 


Adams Avenue, looking west before improvement. 


[ 46 ] 


Adams Avenue, looking west after improvement. 


PRL ALN 


Nee Nae G 


COM Via Ma lee Some la Oman 


=. 


seneet | te--=-4 


i ee 
me 


g 
me io 
Plate No. 19. 


on the east, it could be made a very serviceable 
thoroughfare leading to the business district. It 
now has a width of eighty feet for parts of its 
length. The presence of a car line necessitates 
the width being made uniform throughout. 
Overton Park Avenue should be connected with 
Lane Avenue and extended to the business dis- 
trict, as shown on the proposed major street 
plan. 

Broad AVENUE extends east from Overton 
Park south of the American Car and Foundry 
Co. yards in the northeastern part of the city. 
A minimum width of eighty feet has been pro- 
posed for this street to accommodate the present 
street car line and future vehicular traffic. 


GOBEL PLACE 


SCALE IN FEET 
o_35 cS 


PLAN SHOWING 


CONNECTION OF WASHINGTON 
AND POPLAR AVENUES —~ 


EAST OF DUNLAP ST. 
LEGEND 


Z 
Frame Buildings (| Brick Buildings GY 


Washington Avenue should help carry the Poplar Avenue traffic. 


SUMMER AVENUE is the eastern extension of 
the North Parkway north of the American Car 
and Foundry Co. yards. It is proposed to widen 
this street to a uniform width of eighty feet. 
Its connection with the Parkway, however, 
would necessitate a provision for heavy vehicu- 
lar traffic on the North Parkway between Treze- 
vant Street and McLean Boulevard. This, 
though not wholly desirable, could probably be 
done by developing the central strip of the Park- 
way for heavy and slow-moving vehicles. The 
width of Overton Park creates a greater interval 
between major streets than is usually practica- 
ble. Overton Park, together with the proposed 
site of the Southwestern University just north 


Poplar Avenue at proposed Washington Avenue 
intersection. 


Present terminus of Washington Avenue at Monteverde 


Place, proposed for opening into Poplar Boulevard. 


[47 ] 


18) dL ONE a Le 


RESP SOPR ST 


Jefferson Avenue, looking west from Neeley Place, 
showing proposed opening. 


of the park, which will not permit the extension 
of a major street through its property, make the 
Parkway the only means of creating a continu- 
ous east and west thoroughfare between Jackson 
Avenue on the north and Poplar Boulevard on 
the south, a distance of more than one mile. 


AUCTION AVENUE, because of the traffic it will 
earry as a result of being connected with the 
Parkway, should be widened to eighty feet. 


GREENLAW, Faxon and TUTWILER AVENUES 
constitute a major street immediately north of 
and parallel with the Parkway. The develop- 
ment of this traffie way is an urgent need. It 
will serve as a relief for the Parkway. A width 
of sixty-six feet west of Jackson Avenue and 


ee 


Another view of the new Jefferson Avenue. Two years 
ago this project was considered impracticable. 


eighty feet east of Jackson Avenue is recom- 
mended. The latter width is essential if the 
eastern section of Tutwiler Avenue is to carry 
a car line. 

KEEL AVENUE would serve as a good street if 
connected with Jackson Avenue as shown on the 
major street plan and given a uniform width of 
sixty-six feet. 

VOLLENTINE AVENUE is well located for a 
major street and could very easily be given a 
width of eighty feet because of the undeveloped 
territory through which it now passes. 

Marte AVENUE: A very desirable east and 
west street in the northern part of the city. A 
width of eighty feet could be easily obtained and 
would eventually prove none too wide. 


Jefferson Avenue, looking east from Lauderdale Street, a 


street improvement proposed in the preliminary 
major street plan. 


[ 48 ] 


Jefferson Avenue, being constructed across the Southern 
Yards. (Downtown.) 


Cale Loany. eee AN ee Nie BING Gr Ce ORV a Me eSe oem Oman 


eT 1Y 
laee | 


Third Street, looking south at Beale Avenue, before 
improvement. 


North and South Streets 


RIVERSIDE BOULEVARD - DELAWARE STREET: 
Riverside Boulevard and its connection with 
Delaware Street forms the first north and south 
street east of the river and borders Riverside 
Park on the east. This street could be made 
continuous by a short connection between River- 
side Boulevard and Delaware Street at Wiscon- 
sin Avenue. The presence of a car line would 
make a width of not less than eighty feet de- 
sirable. 

Castrx-HANAUER-LOUISIANA STREETS: A con- 
nection of these streets would form a short ma- 
jor street south of Trigg Avenue bisecting the 
area between Riverside Boulevard and Florida 
Street. It would be impracticable to extend 


An extension which has greatly increased the usefulness of Third Street. 


Plate No. 20. 


IMPROVING OF SOUTH 
THIRD STREET 


FROM. BEALE AVENUE TO CALHOUN AVENUE 


ee ee ee 
Seale in feet. 


The new Third Street at Beale Avenue. 


LEGEND 


Tron Paling [| Bd tom mais [77/7] 
ae 


Tie lee Nee 


Reber on 


Rayburn Boulevard (now Third Street) at Calhoun 
Avenue, before opening. 


Louisiana Street northward from Trigg Avenue 
beeause of the deep valley on the north. Such 
an extension would require the construction of 
an immense viaduct, the cost of which would 
not be justified at this time. It could, however, 
be made a serviceable street by giving it a uni- 
form width of sixty-six feet and a suitable cut- 
off at Trigg Avenue. F 


PENNSYLVANIA STREET has a width of eighty 
feet, which should prove sufficient for all prac- 
tical purposes. 


Marin STREET, the most important business 
street in Memphis, has a width of eighty-two and 
one-half feet. While a greater width would be 
very desirable, its present development would 
make it wholly impracticable to recommend its 
widening. The most practicable means of re- 
lieving the congestion on Main Street is to im- 
prove the parallel streets and to encourage the 
expansion of the business district. Between 
West Georgia Avenue and Iowa Avenue, how- 
ever, its present width is but fifty feet and 
sixty feet. It now carries a car line and should 
therefore be increased to eighty feet. 

RayBurRN-THIRD STREETS form an artery serv- 
ing the southern portion of the city. (See Plate 
No. 20.) Rayburn Boulevard south of Beale 
Avenue has recently been widened to sixty-six 
feet and the break in this street at Calhoun 
Street has been removed by means of a cut-off 
north of Calhoun Avenue. A minimum width 
of eighty feet would be desirable on the parts 
that carry a car line. 


FourtH-LaAtTHAM STREETS: Fourth Street 


[ 50 ] 


The modern Third Street, at Calhoun Avenue, now open 
to traffic. 


now terminates on the north at Market Avenue 
and on the south at McLemore Avenue. It has 
a width of fifty feet or less for the greater part 
of its length and two very bad jogs, one at Madi- 
son Avenue and the other at Court Avenue. 
This street should be extended on the north to 
connect with the proposed Lauderdale Street 
extension and also on the south to connect with 
Latham Street, as shown on the major street 
plan. South of South Parkway, Latham Street 
has a width of seventy-five feet, which is suf- 
ficient; north of South Parkway these streets 
should be given a uniform width of sixty-six feet 
throughout. 


ORLEANS STREET: Its present width of forty- 


Union Avenue-Third Street-Hernando Street intersection. 
Note the generous street space provided by widening of 
Onion Avenue and the extension of Third Street. 


| 


Cl Egy 


PeleaASNe Ni boN *G 


COM Maeve ie Sasa le ON 


five feet is insufficient. It is proposed to widen 
this street to sixty-six feet and connect it with 
Lauderdale Street at Walker Avenue. 

MANASSAS-WALNUT-PORTER STREETS AND CON- 
NECTIONS: Manassas Street is a very important 
erosstown street in the north, but is wholly in- 
adequate in width and loses its identity south 
of Union Avenue. It is proposed to connect 
Manassas Street with Walnut Street south of 
Union Avenue and to extend it southwardly to 
a connection with Porter Street and Highland 
Street. These streets, if properly connected, will 
become a very important crosstown thoroughfare 
and should be given a minimum width of eighty 
feet. 


NEPTUNE STREET should be given a width of 
sixty-six feet and be extended and connected as 
shown on the major street plan. 

SOMERVILLE-DECATUR STREETS AND CONNEC- 
TIONS: A very good ecrosstown street could be 
created by connecting, widening and extending 
these streets. A minimum width of sixty-six 
feet is recommended throughout. 


BELLEVUE BOULEVARD, one of the best cross- 
town streets in Memphis, now varies in width 
from thirty feet to sixty feet and its continuity 
is interrupted by two dangerous jogs, one at 

Union Avenue and the other at Madison Avenue. 
It should be extended on the south to connect 
with Blakemoore Street, and be widened to a 
width of eighty feet throughout. Jogs at Union 
’ Avenue and Madison Avenue should be elimi- 
nated by means of cut-offs. 


Bellevue Boulevard at Broadway. Subway now under 
construction to eliminate the most dangerous 
grade crossing in the city. 


Main Street, the principal business thoroughfare. 


CLEVELAND STREET, if properly connected and 
widened, would form a very serviceable street 
extending north from Lamar Boulevard. Cleve- 
land Street now carries a car line and stops ab- 
ruptly at Poplar Boulevard. It is proposed to 
extend Cleveland Street northward to a connec- 
tion with Watkins Street by utilizing the area 
now traversed by the Madison Heights Bayou. 
Plate No. 11 shows the manner in which this 
major street may be extended. These streets 
should be given a width of sixty-six feet. 


WILLETT-RAGAN-AVALON STREETS are all very 
good streets, but are not continuous. It is rec- 
ommended that these streets be connected and 
given a uniform width of eighty feet. 


McLEAN BouLevarp is at present the most di- 
rect crosstown street and it is destined to become 
a very important thoroughfare. Unfortunately 
its present width is less than fifty feet for the 
greater part of its length. It is necessary that 
this street be widened to eighty feet to accom- 
modate future traffic. 

Coorer STREET now has a ear line and varies 
in width from forty to ninety-five feet. A mini- 
mum width of eighty feet throughout would be 
desirable. 

CASTALIA. 

May. 

SPRINGDALE. 

OEY. 

DaAvIb. 

PINE. 

SPOTTSWOOD. 

These streets and connections are proposed 


north and south crosstown streets in the extreme 


[51] 


1 AL AN aN Ve 1D) 1 (OY Vai ad 


PROROSED DEVELOPMENT OF MAJOR AND MINOR STREETS 


MEMPHIS -TENNESSEE 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW ST. LOUIS MO. CITY PLAN CHGINCER 


ne 


aa 


| \ 
EXTREME WIDTH ON PURELY sa een ee a A He tere = we <n AN GO FOOT WIDTH SHOULD BE 
LOCAL [RESIDENTIAL STREETS ie 30 tebe dL ze —betsd so—----1 THE STANDARD. A BUILDING SET 
IS UNNECESSARY, EXCEPT — tue soroor sTREET 1S TOO OBVIOUSLY ECONOMICAL oF space BACK LINE WILL GIVE SPACIOUS- 
FOR EFFECT NESS TO THE DISTRICT. 


RESIDENTIAL STREETS 


A GGFOOT STREET IS THE NARROWEST 
THAT WILL COMFORTABLY CARRY 4 LINES OF 
TRAFFIC. IT 1S READILY CONVERTIBLE INTO 
A LOCAL BUSINESS THOROUGHFARE 

] IREMOVAL OF TREES AND INCREASE OF ROAD- 

<1 |" haa WAY WIDTH TO 48 FEET WILL PLIRMIT 2 LINES 


——-| 
apst ot ——__»% —1ots4p OF PARKED VEHICLES AT 45'& 2 MOVING LINES 
eke A 70 FOOT STREET OFFERS A BIT MORE 
FOUR ‘ > ee pet SIDEWALK AND TREE SPACE. SUCK A 
LINE aie: ee is STREET ALSO CAN BE CONVERTED INTO 
| we = rand A “CAR LINE "THOROUGHFARE IF NECESSARY 
THOROUGH- Se 4 Sete ACAR LINE” CROWDS THE 6G FOOT 
FARES Tees i oe STRECT 
pe at tay THE 80 FOOT STREET 1S ECONOMICAL 
C Bs F OF SPACE YET WIDE ENOUGH TO CARRY 
; ene: EITHER 4 OR G LINES OF TRAFFIC INCLUD- 
ING STREET CAR. IN ALL NEW PLANNING 
ans CAR LINE STREETS SHOULD NOT BE LESS 
THAN 80 FEET WIDE. 

a, ae THE 1OO FOOT STREET IS A SPLENDID 
ee ee ae 6 LINE STREET CAR THOROUGHFARE. IN 
ee Pee Ae aa RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS ITS WIDTH GIVES 

Rene =< Peay pa sy IT GREATER DIGNITY AND CHARACTER. 

j kev) ears gem | SY é FOR BUSINESS USE THE ROADWAY CAN BE IN- 
SIX Si aE Sa Tel, ~~ CREASED TO CARE FOR ANGULAR PARKING 
LINE é 6 S20 WITHOUT RESTRICTING SIDEWALK WIDTH 
THOROUGH pe ae 
FARES i al a a THE 120 FOOT STRELT IS A CONVERT! BLE 
RESIDENTIAL ees oe ee eee GORSLINE THOROUGHFARE. IT HAS A 
QMO eS a tf ee BOULEVARD ASPECT IN RESIDENTIAL NCIGII- 
Pat laleed | i) BORHOODS AND MAY BECOME A BUSI- 
a vob nnn te NESS STRECT OF UNLIMITED USEFULNESS. 
—18 Sp 5 tet 
THE IOO-FOOT STREET MAY BE 
DEVELOPED AS AN &-LINE THOROUGH- 
FARE BUT IT IS SCARCELY WIDE ENOUGH! 
FOR G-LINES AND ANGULAR PARKING 
EIGHT 
LINE 
THOROUGH 
FARES 
BUSINESS THE 120 FOOT STREET IS BETTER AS 


AN 8-LINE BUSINESS THOROUGHFARE. 
ANGULAR PARKING IS POSSIBLE AND 
SIDEWALKS ARE MORE COMMODIOUS. 


MAJOR STREETS SCALE IN FEET. 


Plate No. 21. Suggestions for street widths based upon lines of vehicles. 


Celera y 


Paw Nee Nee Le NGG: 


CeO Me Me le Sa Siete OeN 


eastern part of the city and the area just east 
of the city limits. The territory through which 
most of these streets and their connections pass 
is at present undeveloped and a width of eighty 
feet could be easily obtained. 

Beyond the city limits the general system of 
major streets, radial arteries and co-ordinated 
erosstown thoroughfares has been continued. 
The problem of developing the system in out- 
lying territory is chiefly that of controlling the 
future subdivisions of land. Many short lengths 
of streets already laid out have been incorpor- 
ated in the plan and suggested for widening. It 
should be possible to secure additional width for 
these favored streets without cost to the city. 


DISTINCTION BETWEEN MaAJorR STREETS AND 
PLEASURE DRIVES 


It is pertinent to emphasize here the particu- 
lar necessity of opening major streets parallel to 
the Parkway. <A glance at the Major Street 
Plan (Plate No. 11) will show that continuous 
parallel streets for utilitarian traffic were not 
laid out at the time the Parkway was developed. 

As a consequence, this splendid drive, because 
of its attractiveness as a thoroughfare, is carry- 
ing an increasing number of vehicles that should 
be diverted to other routes. Its pavement, not 
designed for heavy hauling, has suffered as a 
result of this abuse. 

The Parkway, to be preserved as a pleasure 
drive, should be protected by adequate traffic 
restrictions. Such rules, however, cannot be 
enforced so long as suitable parallel routes are 
not made available for the trucks and wagons 
that must move about the city. 

It will be noted on Plate No. 47 that the sys- 
tem of new parkways and boulevards proposed 
for territory beyond the city limits has been co- 
ordinated with the major street plan. The dif- 
ference between the class of traffic for which 
major streets are constructed and pleasure-seek- 
ing traffic has been recognized. The major 
streets have been designed to be inviting to the 
utilitarian vehicular movement. The lines of 
these streets have been made as direct as possi- 
ble, ample widths are suggested for them, and 
interference with railroads and pleasure drives 
has been reduced to a minimum. It should be 
possible for the city in developing future park- 
ways to lay out parallel major streets at the 
same time, thus avoiding the conditions produced 
on the present Parkway. 


STREET PLANNING OUTSIDE Crry Limits 


The foregoing recommendations are concerned 
with the development of a comprehensive major 
street plan within the present city limits. Much 
new growth is taking place beyond the present 
corporate boundaries, and it is fully as impor- 
tant that new growth conform to a plan as that 
corrections be made in the existing street system. 
Plate No. 47 shows an extension of the major 
street plan for approximately five miles beyond 
the city limits. This extended street plan has 
taken into account all existing streets that might 
be utilized and seeks to serve this area as if it 
were within the present city. 

The execution of the major street plan beyond 
the city limits is primarily a matter of land sub- 
division. It is hoped that individuals in subdi- 
viding properties will see the advantage of such 
a plan and voluntarily follow it. For those un- 
willing to follow the plan its enforcement may 
be secured (1) by extending the city limits, or 
(2) by legislative act giving to the city control 
of all land subdivision for a distance of from 
three to five miles beyond the city limits, or (3) 
by ereation of a county planning commission 
with power to control land subdivision. 


PRINCIPLES TO Br FOLLOWED IN STREET 
PLANNING 


In all street development projects, whether 
affecting old or new streets, the principles of 
modern street planning should be consistently 
followed. Major streets should be distinguished 
from those of local or minor importance. 

The differentiation between traffic ways of the 
two types should be in the following character- 
istics. Major streets should have 

(a) Directness; 

(b) Continuity—no jogs or dead ends; 

(ec) Adequate width, based upon a computa- 
tion of traffic loads and a predetermined 
scheme of thoroughfares. Street width 
should be computed in terms of ‘‘lines 
of vehicles.’’ (See Plate No. 21.) 


Four-Line Streets—No Street Cars 


The minimum acceptable width for 
streets of this class is 66 feet. This 
permits a 36-foot roadway and 15-foot 
sidewalk space on either side. The 
recommended width for _ four-line 
streets is 80 feet. This street width 
will admit widening of the roadway to 
accommodate six lines and will also 


[53 ] 


Dap lee Neer 


ACCOMODATED 
NORMAL DEMAND: 


ADJUST ROADWAY eee SIDEWALK PROPORTIONS OF EACH PARTICULAR STREET TO 


STREET DESIGN | 


IN PLANNING NEW STREETS AND RECONSTRUCTING OLD ONES TO MEET REQUIREMENTS OF 
MODERN TRAFFIC OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES 
DEVELOP SYSTEM OF MAJOR STREETS-WIDE DIRECT THOROUGHFARES 
RELATE ALL STREETS TO.TORGGRAPHY SO THAT EASY GRADES MAY BE SECURED AND ALL 
STREET FRONTAGE MAY BE USED 
ASSIGN WIDTH TO STREETS ACCORDING TO VOLUME OF TRAFFIC THEY ARE TO BEAR 
BASE WIDTH ON NUMBER OF LINES OF MOVING AND STANDING VEHICLES ULTIMATELY TO BE 


SEVERAL EXAMPLES ARE SHOWN BELOW TO ILLUSTRATE THE INTERRELATIONSHID 
OF STREET AND ROADWAY WIDTHS AND TRAFFIC REGULATIONS, 


N ANALYZING THE DIAGRAMS IT SHOULD BE BORNE IN MIND THAT THE 
"STREET "ISTHE ENTIRE SPACE BETWEEN PROPERTY LINES 


S 


als | A SINGLE TRAC 


K CAR LINE 


for PARKING ALLOW SPACE 
AS ABOVE- DRAW LINES ON 
PAVEMENT. 


REQUIRES IO FEET OF 
ROADWAY - A DOUBLE 
LTRACK 2O FEET 


A_SLINE BOK \DWAY (26 FEET) IS STANDARD FOR 
QUIET RESIDENTIAL STREETS 
AM ET WITH SOME THROUGH TRAFFIC 
ARKING SHOULD HAVE A 
> FEET) GREATER? WIDTH OF 
ALLY WASTED UNLESS THE 
ULL OLINE THOROUGHFARE 
RES A S4FOOT PAVEMENT 


Mek) 
PROHBIED WI WRetLy ROADWAY ZeFT SIDEWALKS (SFT 


2 WITH CouBLE ( CAR TRACK 
NG - NO PARKING 
SONNE afer EACH 


FOU! Z 
ROADWAY SS FEET SID 


3 AS ABOVE ONE TRACK REMOVED 
OWE WAY STRET-TWO LINES MOUNG - PARALLEL 
PARKING OV AH SOE ROBDWAY SSTEET SIDEWALKS IS FEET 


Lit ta IE A ee ee El ea eer 


Plate No. 22. 


4 SINGLE CAR TRACK IN CENTER 
FIVE LINES TWO STANDING /HRALLEL JO CURB- 
THREE MOVING - ROKDWAY 44 FEET SIDEWALKS 11 FEET 


5 VARIATION OF NUMBER { 
OWE LINE PARKED AT 45-ONE LINE (HRALLEL- 
TWO MOVING ROWDWAY 41 FEET SIDEWALKS 12% FEET 
HARLAND BAITHOLOMEW 
City Plan Engineer SrlouisMo 1923 


An analysis of the principles of street 
design. 


be adequate for either single or dou- 
ble-track car line. In preliminary 
stages the 80-foot street, developed 
with only a four-line roadway, offers 
a more satisfactory planting space for 
trees and otherwise adds dignity to 
residential districts. 


Siz-Line Streets 


[54] 


No transit thoroughfare should be 
less than a six-line street. The mini- 
mum width for this type should be 80 
feet. This permits a roadway of 54 
feet without street cars and 56 feet 
with them. The sidewalks are ample, 
but cannot be reduced to permit fur- 
ther widening of roadway for angular 
parking. One hundred feet is a more 
suitable width for a six-line street. It 
is commodious and readily converti- 
ble. It can even be made an eight- 
line thoroughfare with transit facili- 
ties, if necessary. In residential dis- 
tricts, before the growth of the city 


Bee PIO Mik. 


warrants intensive development, the 
100-foot street can be made very im- 
pressive. 


Hight-Line Streets 


In 


The eight-line street should be 120 
feet wide. One hundred feet will suf- 
fice, but this width will be insufficient 
to permit the angular parking, which 
is commonly desired. In general an- 
ticipation of future growth, a width of 
one hundred and twenty feet on arte- 
rial thoroughfares will not be found 
excessive. 

Minor streets and special service 
streets may have such widths as will 
satisfy the requirements of local traf- 
fic. If a special effort is made to 
place wide streets where wide streets 
belong, minor streets may be made 
correspondingly conservative of space. 
The width of an eight-line thorough- 
fare is largely wasted on a_ short, 
local byway. If impressiveness is de- 
sired on a narrow street, it can be 
secured by enforcing a building line 
that will keep the houses back and 
permit the planting of trees along 
street lines. Minor streets of residen- 
tial character often need only a two- 
or three-line roadway.. The width of 
minor streets, however, should seldom 
be less than fifty feet. 


Properly designed roadway. 


designing the roadway the specific 


traffic rules to be applied to the street in 


question should be kept in mind. 


Paving 


should be definitely related to parking rules. 
(See Plate No. 22.) 


(1) The unit width of roadway for 
moving vehicles should be nine feet; 
for standing, parallel to the curb, 
eight feet; for parking at thirty de- 
grees, twelve feet; forty-five degrees 
and at right angles to curb, fifteen 
feet. 

(2) Roadways should be paved for 
the most economical accommodation 
of vehicles. In the downtown district, 
where parking space is greatly need- 
ed, the paving on each street should 
be of sufficient width to care for ve- 
hicles standing at a certain angle on 
either side and a definite number of 
moving lines in the center. Extra 
width merely contributes to the traffic 
hazard. Once the roadway width is 
determined by presumption of parking 
at a certain angle, traffic regulations 
should be devised to insure the use 
of the street in this way. A roadway 
planned for forty-five degree parking 


Cr tA Be pee ree NN Nee Ge 


CROP M eee Sa Sele One N 


on either side and two moving lines, 
with parking lines painted on the pave- 
ment, is a safe street. If parking be- 
comes irregular, the variable extra 
roadway space so released invites 
dangerous driving. Streets are made 
safe by being used under definite reg- 
ulations, Note the following roadways 
for specified uses: 
Four parallel lines, vehicles 
moving or standing, no street 


CATS ie Ai ete see Bee os 36 feet 
Four parallel lines and one 
center car lineseeeeeee sae 46 feet 


Two lines moving vehicles and 
parking at 45 degrees on 
bothssid esac. =e woe 48 feet 

Four parallel lines, vehicles 
moving or standing, and dou- 
DlSTCarglin Gm ce see ee ee nee. 56 feet 

Two lines moving vehicles, two 
standing at 45 degrees, dou- 

DICE CATAline 2 Se. een 68 feet 

Four lines moving vehicles, 
two standing at 45 degrees, 
Coublesca tli eye ee 86 feet 
(3) The placing and routing of 

street car lines should be thoroughly 
in accord with the major street sys- 
tem and traffic regulations. The tran- 
sit facilities of Memphis today have 
been disposed with little regard for 
major traffic ways. 


(e) Commodious, but no unnecessarily wide 
sidewalks. 


(f{) Easy gradients and curves. 
(g) Attractive and durable paving. 
(h) Suitable curb radii. 


(i) Safety features—platforms, proper light- 
ing, vision clearance at hazardous cor- 
ners, etc. 


Obviously it will not always be possible in 
reconditioning old streets in the interior of the 
city to apply all the above standards. Outside 
the city, however, the major street plan may be 
executed with full effectiveness. Land subdivi- 
sion practice, the primary source of past mis- 
takes in street planning, should be modified im- 
mediately to meet the requirements of the city’s 
new street development policy. 

Adherence to the major street plan and the 
principles of modern street design embodied 
therein will benefit the land subdivider as well 
as the city. A great deal of property in Mem- 
phis today is low in value because of the dis- 
regard of community interests. The lack of 
municipal control has invited narrow, dead-end 


streets, lots of improper size and similar abnor- 
malities which failed to serve selfish ends as 
expected. It is apparent now that standards for 
land subdivision are needed and that the city is 
justified in enforcing these standards as it seeks 
to carry out its major street plan. The welfare 
of the general public and the interests of those 
who will own or live upon land in all new sub- 
divisions demand: 


First, that circulation requirements be met by 
preserving the continuity of major streets. 

If this principle is followed and the integrity 
of the major street plan is preserved, no lots in 
any subdivision need be much more than a quar- 
ter of a mile from a wide, direct traffie way. 
The selfish subdivider, however, cannot expect to 
be permitted to ignore the major street plan as 
it affects his holdings, yet enjoy the advantages 
of thoroughfares developed through observance 
of the plan elsewhere. The laws of Tennessee 
have given the City Commission authority to 
enforce its major street plan if necessary. (See 
Appendix ‘‘A.’’) 


Second, that all streets be laid out with proper 
regard for topography. 

If the land which is being developed is rolling 
or rugged in character, the opportunity for 
varying the rectangular method of platting 
should be welcomed. Major streets only need 
be carried directly through the subdivision and 
in certain cases even they may be made more 
useful by curves and easier gradients. So long 
as the major street plan is followed there is no 
necessity for the minor streets of one district to 
have the same pattern and alignment as another. 
The chief requirement to be made of the minor 
street layout is that it provide for the normal 
flow of vehicles toward the thoroughfares. 


Third, that the accepted standards of modern 
land platting be observed in the determination 
of lot and block sizes. 


The widening use of automobiles, the inereas- 
ing size of cities, the cost of paving and similar 
factors all urge the reduction of unnecessary 
street spaces. Cross streets can be reduced in 
number without detriment to circulation and 
with notable saving to property owners. Block 
lengths, therefore, may run as high as 1,000 
feet, provided cross-walks are introduced. Lot 
depths and block widths may also be decreased. 
The normal lot requirements of a single family 
home are well provided for by a lot 125 feet 


[55 ] 


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deep. Blocks, therefore, should be approximate- 
ly 250 feet in width. The width of lots should 
be determined by the character of the subdivi- 
sion, but should not fall below 40 feet. In no 
ease, whether lots be of rectangular or irregular 
shape, ‘should the total area fall below 5,000 
square feet. All lots should bear a building 
line, this line on corner lots carrying around the 
side so as to preserve the full setback on the side 
street if any is required. Side lines of lots 
should be at right angles to the street. Hase- 
ments for utilities should be reserved along 
proper lines and alleys eliminated except in the 
rear of commercial property. 

Fourth, that in so far as possible the complete 
development of the new subdivision as a part of 
the city should be provided for at the time of 
platting. 

If a local store group is anticipated in the 
area being subdivided, the layout of streets and 
lots should be modified accordingly. The re- 
quirements of business are different from those 
of residences and should be recognized. This 
same rule applies to platting for schools, parks, 
churehes, institutions and similar special inter- 
ests. The residential advantages of a subdivi- 
sion may be materially improved by adapting 
streets and lots in design to all these require- 
ments. 

In carrying out the subdivision project, grad- 
ing should be done according to plans prepared 
at the time the layout is made. Trees should be 
planted and, if possible, sidewalks and pavements 
laid before the newly-platted property is placed 
upon the market. 

The principles stated above are exemplified in 
Plate No. 24 and are incorporated in the rules 
by which subdivisions will be judged hereafter 
by the City Planning Commission. Realty agents 
of Memphis should co-operate in carrying out 


{{N. 
[A DIAGRAM TO ILLUSTRATE PRINCIPLES OF LAND SUBDIVISION 


1 MAJOR STREETS SHOULD BE RESPECTED © RESERVE RUGGED AREA AS PARK 

2 STREETS SHOULD FIT CONTOURS 7 INDICATE SCHOOL AND CHURCH SITES 

3 TRAFFIC SHOULD FLOW TOWARD THOROUGHFARES. 8 AVOID SHARP-ANGLED LOTS 

4,Maxc mNOR STREETS UNSUITABLE AS THOROUGHFARES 9 LOT LINES SHOULD BE PERPENDICULAR TO STREET 
5 PLAN COMMERCIAL SITES AT IMPORTANT INTERSECTIONS 10 OMIT ALLEYS | 


NOTE RELANVE WIDTH OF STREETS LOTSNOT ORAWNTO ScALE THREE TYPES OF ‘STREET,LAYOUT 


Harrano Bartiotomew Gry Pian Encincer Saint Louis 


Plate No. 24. A brief statement of the formula by which 
suitable land subdivisions may be prepared. 


the new land subdivision policies of the city. 
Every piece of property that is subdivided with- 
in five miles of Memphis is related to the city. 
It cannot be ignored because it happens today 
to seem remote. They should appreciate the 
concern of the city in what they are doing and 
lend every effort toward improving land subdi- 
vision practice. The city is spending consider- 
able sums correcting mistakes made in the past; 
by properly guiding land subdivision in the fu- 
ture these expenses will be avoided and all Mem- 
phis will benefit. 


[57 ] 


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MEMPHIS a 
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SCALES (N)FEET SITY Limits _ Sea 
PRESENT & PROPOSED = ae 


TRACK ARRANGEMENT 
AREAS SERVED AND 
DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION 


CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 
COPYRIGHT 1922 


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Present Track To Be Usep 
PRESENT TRACK TO BE ABANDONED 
PROPOSED CONNECTIONS & EXTENSIONS 


2a ee s&4] UNSERVED AREAS 


Note - One Quarter Mile Walking Distance to 
Gr Lines taken as Basis of Service. 


Ne wy Each Dot - REPRESENTS 25 PERSONS. 


city! Lit 


Plate No. 25. Transit facilities should be extended in such a way as to encourage a balanced urban development. 


ie Tee ren, 


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— 


TRANSIT 


SATISFACTORY transit system is de- 
pendent upon a number of equally im- 
W(Gey portant and inter-related elements. Aside 

from the legal and financial phases, good 
transit service requires efficient and economical 
operation. As most transit systems are the re- 
sult of a consolidation of numerous competing 
lines, their physical plans are usually deficient 
and consequently costly of operation. The lack 
of systematic street design providing direct thor- 
oughfares of sufficient width is also responsible 
to some degree for poorly arranged lines. These 
matters are all involved in a comprehensive 
transit system, and no satisfactory scheme of 
urban transportation can be evolved without the 
consideration and intelligent solution of each 
and every one of them. The transit study under 
the city plan, however, deals primarily with the 
rerouting and extension of lines in accordance 
with a predetermined and carefully prepared 
plan. 


Mempuis TRAFFIC SURVEY 


Just prior to the inauguration of the city 
planning studies in Memphis, the Railroad and 
Public Utilities Commission of Tennessee, in its 
reply to an application for the approval of in- 
crease in fares, ordered the Receivers of the 
Memphis Street Railway Company, among other 
things to be done, to have a traffic survey made 
to the end that ‘‘more satisfactory service may 
be provided in the City of Memphis at less cost 
to the public than is at present maintained. 
ees. This order, however, shall not become 
effective unless and until the City of Memphis 
shall elect to have such traffic survey made.”’ 

In accordance with the order of the Railroad 
and Public Utilities Commission, dated March 
15th, 1920, Mr. Ross W. Harris of Madison, 
Wisconsin, was retained jointly by the Board of 
Commissioners of the City of Memphis and the 
Receivers of the Memphis Street Railway Com- 
pany (which receivership has since been termi- 
nated). Mr. Harris made a eomplete and ex- 
haustive study of the existing operating condi- 


tions and made numerous valuable suggestions 
for improving the service and effecting economy 
in operation. Among some of the more impor- 
tant improvements recommended were the relief 
of street car congestion on Main Street and a 
more intensive use of Third Street. Also the 
removal of lines from Front Street, which re- 
sulted in alternate north and south streets in the 
business district being used for transit facilities, 
and left Front Street and Second Street free for 
vehicular traffic. This arrangement has already 
proved advantageous in that it has expedited 
both vehicular and street car traffic and has 
served to encourage the natural expansion of 
the downtown district. 

Notwithstanding the fact that Memphis at the 
time of the survey had reached a population of 
162,000, it continued, like many other growing 
cities, to be a one-street city so far as its busi- 
ness district was concerned. Car lines from all 
sections of the city centered upon Main Street 
to the practical exclusion of all other streets. 
Although the plan finally accepted and now in 
effect has greatly relieved this situation, it is 
evident that it will not prove adequate to meet 
the growth of Memphis many years hence. 

Unfortunately Mr. Harris did not have the 
benefit of the city plan studies, which followed 
his survey. The major street plan would have 
been of particular value, even though his survey 
was concerned primarily with reducing the cost 
of operation and of relieving traffic, yet involv- 
ing as little change as possible in the existing 
system. These city planning studies emphasize 
the need of anticipating an even greater expan- 
sion of the business district than is now provided 
for under the present loop plan. They, too, 
exemplify the necessity of certain extensions in 
the outlying districts, which phase of the plan 
was not treated under the traffic survey. 


TRANSIT RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED IN THE 
City PLAN 

Inasmuch as the purpose of the city plan is 

to suggest and co-ordinate all of the physical 


[59 ] 


Fie iGeN ee Age, 


Te 1B TP. TO) 1k Th 


improvements of the city many years in advance, 
the plan of Memphis would not be complete with- 
out definite recommendations for the gradual 
adjustment of the present layout and a future 
program for the extension of transit service. 
Such a scheme has been prepared. Its study was 
greatly simplified by the major street plan des- 
ignating all present and proposed main thor- 
oughfares. See Plate No. 25, showing present 
and proposed track arrangement, areas served 
and distribution of population. With this plan 
as a guide for all new improvements, it should 
be possible ultimately to attain a systematic and 
economic transit layout. 


In addition to the plan which was submitted 
in a preliminary transit report as a part of the 
city plan, the following suggestions were also 
made for simplifying and accelerating street car 
and vehicular traffic movements: 


1. Reduction of the number of left-hand 
turns by street cars in the business district. 


2. Removal of car tracks from Union Avenue 
as far west as Main Street so as to free this thor- 
oughfare of car tracks for its entire length. 


3. The abandonment of tracks on Linden 
Avenue so as better to serve vehicular traffic. 


4. Create a crosstown line by extending the 
Cleveland line south on Bellevue to McLemore, 
thence west to Florida. Such a line would di- 
vert considerable traffic around the business dis- 
trict and thereby relieve congestion in the cen- 
tral part of the city. 


In compliance with the above recommenda- 
tions, car tracks on Union Avenue have been 
removed except for that part between Third 
and Main Streets. The tracks on Linden Ave- 
nue have been removed. Considerable progress 
has been made toward accomplishing the exten- 
sion of the crosstown line. The operation of this 
line has been dependent upon the construction 
of two railroad grade separations, one on Me- 
Lemore Avenue and the other on Bellevue Boule- 
vard. The McLemore Avenue viaduct has been 
completed for more than a year and it was pro- 
vided with car tracks for this line. The Bellevue 
Boulevard subway has been designed to carry 
ear tracks and construction work is now under 
way. Upon its completion the crosstown line 
will be continuous from MeLemore Avenue to 
Poplar Boulevard. 


[ 60 ] 


Future ExtTENSIONS 


Transit facilities must necessarily precede de- 
velopment. Experience shows that people will 
not live in any appreciable number in unserved 
areas, while, on the other hand, to extend the 
electric lines into new territory in advance of 
population would place a tremendous financial 
burden upon the entire system, for which all the 
ear riders would ultimately have to pay. The 
problem, therefore, is to find a means of provid- 
ing reasonable service in new districts prior to 
the time when the cost of constructing electric 
lines would be justified. The use of motor buses 
as auxiliaries and feeders to the electric lines is 
the most satisfactory and economical solution of 
this problem. 

Electric lines have proved to be the most 
practical and cheapest way of handling the 
masses of people, but up to a certain density the 
bus lines have been found to be more economical 
because of low cost of installation compared with 
the initial cost of constructing tracks for electrie 
lines. The satisfactory use of the bus, however, 
is dependent upon several important conditions. 
The buses must be operated by the transit com- 
pany under a unified scheme in order that sched- 
ules can be synchronized and transfers inter- 
changed. The use of all private buses in com- 
petition with the transit company should be pro- 
hibited. The street railway system is a natural 
monopoly subject to regulation, and all forms of 
urban transportation should come under its con- 
trol; this for the obvious reason that it is com- 
pelled, as a matter of public convenience, to ~ 
provide service in certain unremunerative dis- 
tricts, and in order to maintain a uniform rate 
of fare, the more profitable lines must help sup- 
port the less remunerative ones. Consequently 
any reduction in revenue on the heavy lines nat- 
urally affects the fare for the whole system. 


Several years ago many so-called ‘‘jitneys’’ 
appeared upon city streets, creating a problem of 
traffic regulation and so added to the difficulties 
of maintaining public safety that state legisla- 
tion and local ordinances were passed, which 
are still in effect, declaring jitneys to be common 
carriers, fixing certain routes of operation and 
requiring a bond of $5,000.00 for each vehicle 
operated. Thus restricted to a responsible form 
of service, these vehicles soon ceased to function 
effectively, never having helped to carry any 
substantial proportion of the riding publie. 


(Gy DE ko ng 


rege eae NN Lee N Gr 


GeOSMeMBLES SSsl OF uN 


The city’s growth, to be economical and effi- 
cient, should be symmetrical, and the population 
should be uniformly distributed. This requires 
that new districts be opened from time to time 
and that carfare be uniform throughout the city. 
. It is recommended, therefore, that modern buses 
be used as feeders to the main electric lines, 
that transfers be interchanged between the two 
carriers, and a uniform rate of fare be main- 
tained, all under a unified system operated by 
the transit company. 


SUBURBAN AND INTERURBAN SERVICE 


The territory about Memphis contains many 
small communities, but of such limited popula- 
tion that no electric interurban lines have been 
or are likely soon to be established. In recent 
years these communities have been brought into 
closer touch with Memphis, however, by the de- 
velopment of a number of motor bus lines. They 
perform an effective service, operating only be- 
tween these communities and the business dis- 
trict of Memphis, where a terminal for them has 
been established on Front Street near Court 


Avenue. So long as they perform no local serv- 
ice and ereate no particular traffic problem in 
the business district, such service should be en- 
couraged. The routes and daily trips made are 
as follows: 


Name of 
Company 


No. of Round 
Destination Trips Daily 
Gregory Bus Line 
Gregory Bus Line 
Rosemark Bus Line 
Rosemark Bus Line 
Ellis Bros. Bus Line 
Independent Bus Line 
Pleasant Ridge Bus Line 
Munford Bus Line 
tregory Bus Line 
tregory Bus Line 
Gregory Bus Line 
Gregory Bus Line 
Gregory Bus Line 
Gregory Bus Line 
Gregory Bus Line 


Collierville, Tenn.. 
Olive Branch, Miss. 
Rosemark, Tenn... 
Collierville, Tenn.. 
Kerrville, Tenn.... 
Kerrville, Tenn.... 
Pleasant Ridge ... 
Munford, Tenn.... 
Forrest City, Ark.. 
Marked Tree, Ark.. 
Wynne, Arkin. 
Holly Sp’gs, Miss.. 
Cockrum, Miss. ... 
Hernando, Miss.... 
Tunica Missa... 


NwrPrR ER KENYON KPENNM DY BLO 


[ 61 } 


R-EPP TORT 


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[ 62 | 


Ce ele, Pee Ne Neel NGS G 


CEOs MoIMALSS 25 21; 0; aN 


TRANSPORTATION 


EMPHIS is well favored as to its trans- 
portation facilities, and has few equals 
Mey 2Mong cities of similar size. The railroads 
have been remarkably influential in de- 
veloping Memphis industrially, especially during 
the past ten years. They radiate from Memphis 
in every direction, and for this reason the city 
is particularly well known as a distributing and 
receiving point for shipments originating in and 
consigned to the Southern and Southwestern 
states. In order to eare properly for the normal 
increase in traffic, there will soon be required 
some expansion in facilities and a revision of 
operating methods. 


The present is an eminently proper time for 
both the railroads and the city to combine their 
efforts in formulating a logical and systematic 
program of development that will provide in 
detail for both immediate and future transporta- 
tion requirements. 


PRESENT RAILROAD FACILITIES AND OPERATING 
MetTHops 


Memphis is served by the following railroads: 

The Southern Railway (including Mobile & 
Ohio Railroad), Louisville & Nashville Railroad, 
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, St. 
Louis & San Francisco Railroad, Mlinois Central 
Railroad, Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad, 
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, St. 
Louis-Southwestern Railroad, Missouri Pacific 
Railway and the Union Railway. (See Plates 
No. 26 and No. 29.)* 


The facilities and operating methods of the 
various railroads may be summarized as follows: 


THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL AND YAzOO & MISSISSIPPI 
VALLEY RAILROADS 


The principal freight yards of the I. C. and Y. & 
M. V. Railroads, the Nonconnah Yards, are about a 
mile south of Mallory Avenue. They are well be- 
yond the city limits, and their development will not 


*Previous reports. made to the City Planning Com- 
Mission contain information in detail concerning the 
capacity of facilities, methods of operation, etc. 


be interfered with by industrial growth in the 
vicinity. 

Nonconnah Yard is a double hump yard with a 
capacity of about 5,000 cars. It is equipped with 
shops, roundhouse, coal pockets, ice plant and water 
plant, It is an efficient layout, modern in every 
respect, and the largest and most complete of all 
yards in Memphis. The west end of the yard con- 
nects by a wye into the Y. & M. V. R. R., and the 
east end into the I. C. R. R. All freight trains that 
enter and leave Memphis are classified and made 
up in the Nonconnah Yard. 


South Yard, located between Iowa Avenue and 
McLemore Avenue, has a capacity of 1,170 cars, and 
is used as a terminal for passenger trains and as 
an assembly yard for freight destined to and from 
Memphis, and connecting line interchange cars. 


The North Yard of the I. C. R. R. is located just 
east of Wolf River at the north city limits. It has 
a capacity of 850 cars, and is used principally for 
storage and to assemble cars to serve this increas- 
ingly important industrial district. 

The freight stations of the Illinois Central and 
Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroads are located 
one on Calhoun Avenue at South Front Street and 
one on Beale Avenue. 


The foregoing covers the main facilities of the 
I. C. and the Y. & M. V. Railroads, which are oper- 
ated as one company. The general method of ter- 
minal operation within Memphis is as follows: 


Beginning at Nonconnah Yard, the system divides 
into two branches, a double track belt line for freight 
traffic following the eastern border of the city and 
another line paralleling the river front, both lines 
joining at Woodstock, 11.5 miles north of Memphis. 
The east branch carries all through freight and the 
river line all passenger traffic. From Nonconnah 
Yard to Memphis, the Y. & M. V. is used only for 
passenger trains and switch engines, while the I. C. 
is used for both. All passenger trains enter and 
leave Grand Central Station, which station is owned 
and operated by the I, C. 


Traffic on the Y. & M. V. consists of ten freight 
trains out and twelve inbound daily, and a total of 
fourteen passenger trains daily. The I. C., south, 
has two freight trains in and out daily, a total of 
four, and five passenger trains in and out, or a total 
of ten. The I. C., north, handles twelve scheduled 
freight trains in and out daily, total twenty-four, and 
six passenger trains in and out, total of twelve. 


All freight trains entering Nonconnah Yard are 
classified over the hump for points north and south, 
freight houses on Calhoun Avenue and Beale Ave- 


[ 63 ] 


Ee leN eave 


Rye PEO ORD 


nue, team tracks, local industries and for connecting 
lines. Those for Memphis delivery are sent to South 
Yard and from there distributed to destination. 


THe Str. Louris & SAN FRANCISCO RAILROAD 


Memphis is on the main line of the St. Louis & 
San Francisco Railroad between Kansas City and 
Birmingham. It also operates a line between Mem- 
phis and St. Louis. On the northern and western 
divisions a total of twelve passenger and twenty- 
four freight trains enter and leave the city daily. 
On the southern division there are four passenger 
and six freight trains each way daily. All passenger 
trains enter and leave from Grand Central Station, 
at Calhoun Avenue and South Main Street. 

The Frisco Railroad operates three freight yards 
within and near Memphis: The Harvard Yard, which 
is about thirteen miles northwest of Memphis in 
Arkansas; the Calhoun Avenue Yard, lying along the 
river at the foot of Calhoun Avenue; and the Yale 
Yard southeast of Memphis, one mile beyond the 
city limits and about five miles from the Calhoun 
Avenue Yard. All freight trains are handled from 
and to these yards by terminal crews. Southbound 
freight trains entering Harvard Yard are broken up 
and classified for Memphis delivery and points south. 
These are made up into solid trains and brought 
into the Calhoun Avenue Yard. The same crew picks 
up all cars for delivery to Union, Southern and M. 
& O. Railroads, and sets them out at K. C. Junction, 
and picks up the L. & N. cars, which are taken to 
Yale Yard. 


Northbound trains entering Yale Yard set out L. 
& N. interchange cars and take the remainder to 
Calhoun Avenue Yard. From here northbound cars 
are made up in solid trains and moved by a terminal 
crew to the Harvard Yard. From Yale Yard to Cal- 
houn Yard the train is handled by a terminal crew, 
the road crew leaving the train at Yale Yard and 
putting up at the Calhoun Avenue terminal. 


The Frisco freight house, located along Kentucky 
Street between Calhoun and East Georgia Avenues, 
is well situated. It has a track capacity of 125 cars 
in five lines. 


Cuicaco, Rock Isuanp & Paciric RAILROAD 


The Memphis terminal of the Rock Island Railroad 
is located at Hulbert, Arkansas, about eight miles 
west of Memphis. 


At the Hulbert Yard trains are made up of cars 
destined for Memphis and connecting lines in Mem- 
phis, and are brought to the yard of the Rock Island 
at Fourth Street and Calhoun Avenue by transfer 
crews. From here the cars are distributed to con- 
necting lines and to the Rock Island freight house 
and team tracks, which are also located at Fourth 
Street and Calhoun Avenue. 


The passenger trains enter Grand Central Station 
and equipment is cared for in a small yard adjacent 
to the bridge approach. 


Present traffic of the C., R. I. & P. Railroad con- 


[ 64 ] 


sists of four passenger and three freight trains each 
way daily. 


THe Missourrt Pacitric RAILROAD COMPANY AND 
Union Rattway (BELT LINE) 


The Memphis branch of the Missouri Pacific Rail- 
road terminates in Memphis and taps the main line 
of the system at Bald Knob, Arkansas. It also makes 
a junction at Wynne, Arkansas, with the Helena, 
Arkansas, branch, and by the cut-off near Bridge 
Junction, Arkansas, a few miles west of Memphis, 
connects again with this same branch at Marianna, 
Arkansas, thus giving Memphis exceptionally good 
communication to points in eastern Arkansas. 

The present traffic in and out of Memphis consists 
of five freight and six passenger trains each way 
daily. 

The passenger trains enter the Union Station and 
passenger equipment is cared for by the Union 
Railway. 

Freight trains are run directly to Sargent Yard 
just east of K. C. Junction, where they are classified 
for delivery within the city. All freight trains leav- 
ing Memphis are made up in this yard. 


In addition to the passenger terminal, the Union 
Railway operates the Sargent Yard, North Yard, and 
Belt Line, which, with trackage rights along the 
river, practically circumscribes the city. Its numer- 
ous spurs and branches reach all important indus- 
trial districts. 


Besides serving directly the Missouri Pacific Rail- 
road, the Union Railway acts as a switching line 
between industries and all other railroads in Mem- 
phis. : 

Sargent Yard has a capacity of about 1,200 cars, 
and contains shops, roundhouse and repair tracks. 
It occupies fairly expensive land and has reached 
its limit of development. Its location is uncomfort- 
ably close to K. C. Junction, which adds to the con- 
gestion at this point. ; 


The freight station of the Missouri Pacific Rail- 
road is on Calhoun Avenue near Kentucky Street. 
The general arrangement is suitable for present 
needs, and when conditions warrant the site is 
adaptable to further development. 


LOUISVILLE & NASHVILLE RAILROAD 


The lL. & N. Railroad, the Memphis division of 
which terminates in Memphis, has its principal yard, 
the Leewood Yard, located northeast of the city, 
about one and one-half miles from the city limits. 
Its capacity is only about 450 cars, but there is 
ample room for expansion. Six scheduled freight 
trains are handled in and six out by the L. & N. 
daily. 

The passenger trains, five each way daily, enter 
the Union Station. Freight house facilities at Cal- 
houn Avenue are shared with the N., C. & St. L. 
Railroad. (This road also owns the right-of-way from 
Aulon Junction to Leewood, now used by the Illinois 
Central Railroad.) 


Ca les lay: 


BeleAauwn  N LENG 


Co Ome Mee Mee ls SS le Oss 


THE NASHVILLE, CHATTANOOGA & St. Louis 
RAILROAD 


The N., C. & St. L. Railway enters Memphis at 
Aulon near Union Avenue and the east city limits, 
and terminates at Union Station. 

The freight house is on Calhoun Avenue at the 
end of Mulberry Street and along Michigan Street. 
It is used jointly with the L. & N. R. R. 

The freight traffic of the N., C. & St. L. Railway 
amounts to five regular trains out and four in, a 
total of nine daily. They have four passenger trains 
each way daily, which use the Union Station. 


St. Lovis SOUTHWESTERN RAILWAY CoMPANY 
(Corton BELT) 


Memphis is an eastern terminus of the Cotton 


MEMPHIS 


TENNESSEE , 

EXISTING & DROPOSED l; er ae 
IMPROVEMENTS IN a i . 

TRANSPORTATION 
FACILITIES 


1922 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW 
CITY PLAN ENGINEER 
SAINT LOUIS 


SCALE IN FEET 
3yo00__ 2000 


Belt, using the Rock Island’s tracks from Brinkley, 
Arkansas, to Memphis. Its traffic consists of two 
passenger trains daily each way, which enter and 
leave from Union Station, and two freight trains 
daily each way. 

Within Memphis the Cotton Belt uses the freight 
facilities of the Illinois Central Railroad and its 
freight cars are handled by that road. Freight 
trains are brought directly into the South Yards and 
Nonconnah Yard, and are there broken up and the 
cars are distributed to the Illinois Central freight 
house, connecting lines and local industries. This 
work is performed by Illinois Central crews. 


SOUTHERN RAILWAY 


Memphis is a western terminus of the Southern 
Railway. Its classification yard, Forrest Yard, is 


fy lluwion 
SS 5 
IGE Ho | 
a. I 


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RRINTERCHANGE ii 


a 


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RIVERSIDE PARK 


SS Present Yole Yaris 


ISS 


Plate No. 26. 


FREIGHT HOUSES 
AMO TEAM TRACKS 
1FRISCORR 


LEGEND 


2 MO.PAC RQ (INBOUND) 
3 MO. PAC.2R (OUTBOUND) 
4 1C-YEMY 6 COTTON BELT aR 
SLEN-NCéSTLRE 
Ocerieper 
7LENRR 

6 icre (BEALE st) 
9 SOUTHERN RE. OP FDISCO | pROPOSID) 
10 15 PASSENGER SIA 


and railroad yards. 


O EXISTING SUBWAYS 
@ PROPOSED SUBWAYS 
= EXISTING VIADUCTS 
mms PROPOSED VIADUCTS 
= PROPOSED TRACK ELEVATION 
——-PROPOSED TRACKS A 


Showing methods of eliminating grade crossings, and proposed new track 


TO BIRM) 


BaeN as 


Mavs, Ge (OW Tayo At 


= MEMPHIS * 


TENNESSEE 


PLAN SHOWING 


RAILROAD PROPERTY 


UWS ears 
est 


eet 


Lesh 


A 
LY | 


Plate No. 27. The portion in solid black indicates the extent of land owned by the 
steam railroads. 


located in the southeastern corner of the city, partly 
within and partly beyond the city limits. Here all 
incoming freight trains are broken up and classified 
for delivery to connecting lines, the Lauderdale 
Street freight house, and to industries. All outgoing 
or southbound freight trains are made up in For- 
rest Yard. Passenger trains, four each way daily, 
make use of the Union Station. 


Mosite & Onto RAILROAD 


The M. & O. Railroad has no track or other facili- 
ties in Memphis. Its business, exclusively freight, 
is handled by the Southern Railway. 


INTERCHANGE METHODS 


The interchange of cars between the various 
railroads within Memphis is accomplished at the 
following general localities: 


Kast Iowa and the I. C. R. R. and vicinity. 
Kansas City Junction. 
Yale Yard. 


[ 66 ] 


Crossing of L. & N., I. C. and Union R. R., 
northeast of the city (Leewood). 

Navy Yard and vicinity. 

North Yard of I. C. and Union Railway. 

Aulon Junetion. 

Forrest Yard of Southern. 

Union Railway and I. C. Junction near Non- 
connah Yard. 

At Iowa Avenue and the I. C. R. R. inter- 
change is effected between the I. C. R. R. and 
the C. R. I. & P., Cotton Belt, Missouri Pacific, 
N., C. & St. L., Frisco, and the Southern. The 
last delivers to the I. C. only at this point. 

Other interchange in the vicinity, which ne- 
cessitates the use of those tracks in Railroad 
Avenue, is as follows: 


The N., C. & St. L. delivers to and receives 


' from the Frisco at Georgia Street; the C. R. I. 


& P. and N., C. & St. L. interchange ears in 


ul 
Ar 
ee 


» 


feel 


TENNESSEE 7 fupess // S & > /f ih fi i TENNESSEE 
PLAN SHOWING ff MGS Ry ( g SSS ts A 
APROPOSED REVISIONS - ae ISE) | | a a Renton eae 
OF RAILROADS | ys ene (Cw __|| | es ee He ae ie IC 
a A) Ee teoraso hx it =~ ff E DISTRI 


PRESENT YARDS AND TRACKS .——— OPQRED 
PROPOSED YARDS AND JRACKS ------— ; * 


Se = = CANONS av fl 

4)."[PResent STATION &! Evi ] | 

{j-eeoposen apoio AL & | 

-PROPOSED_ ADI ea | ae ae 

| STATION TRacks |i > mer 

H\\|t0. ACCOMMODATE || sma! 
St pau 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW ST LOUIS, MO 
CITY PLAN ENCINEERL 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW ST. LOUIS, MO. 
cen 


CITY PLAN ENGIN 


2 
[ALL RAILROADS a 
t 2 


ee 


—— 


pT SPE 


>= 


See a aaa 


KANSAS CITY JUNCTION 


‘One Inch Equals Two Hundred Feet 


Plate No. 29. An intricate track layout. Nine companies independently operate in this district. One derailment can block the movements of all roads. 


Plate No. 28. The elevated track, new connections and exchanges of facilities indicated will greatly simplify operations in this district. 


Cle Le Sy, 


BAL AON UNe TN. G 


GF OIMeM Iles, S2L ON 


their freight house yards; the L. & N. delivers 
to the N., C. & St. L. freight house yard; the 
Union Railway delivers to the N., C. & St. L. 
freight house yard. 

The Frisco receives and delivers to the I. C., 
and also to the N., C. & St. L. and Cotton Belt, 
at the Calhoun Avenue yard. C. R. I. & P. de- 
liveries are made to its freight house. 

Kansas City Junction is an interchange point 
for the Southern, Union Railway and Frisco. 
The I. C. also delivers to the Southern at Kansas 
City Junction. 

At Yale yard of the Frisco cars are inter- 
changed between the L. & N. and Frisco by a 
transfer track connecting these yards with the 
Illinois Central belt line. 

Near the L. & N. crossing of the Union Rail- 
way, at Leewood yards, the Union Railway and 
L. & N. Railroad interchange. 

The Navy Yard and vicinity is an interchange 
point for the Frisco, I. C. and C., R. I. & P. to 
the L. & N., especially of perishable freight. 


North yards of I. C. and Union Railway are 
used for interchange of cars picked up from 
industries in the northern part of the city. 

At Aulon Junction the L. & N. and N., C. & 
St. L. interchange carload freight. 

The Union Railway delivers to the Southern 
at Horrest yards; the C., R. I. & P. in alternate 
months delivers and receives at this yard and 
at the C., R. I. & P. freight house. 

In the preliminary transportation report it 
was recommended that the Union Railway and 
Illinois Central interchange at their junction in 
the vicinity of the Memphis Terminal Corpora- 
tion Compress near Noneonnah yard. This is 
now being done. 

With some variations, depending upon the 
amount of business handled, the above method 
of interchanging carload freight is in general 
closely followed. 


RECOMMENDED CHANGES IN RAILROAD FACILITIES 
AND OPERATING METHODS 


It is commonly estimated that transportation 
requirements increase at the rate of from six to 
ten per cent per year, measured by volume 
of freight handled. This growth is taken care 
of in various ways, such as adding to the 
capacity of cars and length of trains, utilizing 
more powerful locomotives, reducing grades, re- 


routing, and inaugurating traffic agreements 
with other roads. 

Making allowance for the various methods of 
increasing traffic-handling capacity, it is reason- 
able to suppose that existing facilities within 
Memphis will within, say, fifty years have to 
eare for at least three times the volume of freight 
now moving. Referring to Plate No. 30, show- 
ing routing and volume of freight car move- 
ments, it is not difficult to foresee the intense 
congestion that will exist if present operating 
methods are continued. 

It is obvious that the traffic interference in 
Railroad Avenue, particularly at the Illinois 
Central intersection, will have attained unen- 
durable proportions long before the suggested 
fifty-year period has been reached. 

The Frisco Railroad particularly will be called 
upon to enlarge its facilities, as its direct route 
is through Memphis, with no opportunity to by- 
pass traffic. 

Passenger traffic requirements will not in- 
erease so rapidly as freight, due to the use of 
the auto and interurban ears. The growth will 
be taken care of for some time by using trains 
of greater length and increasing speed. 

Freight stations generally can be much more 
intensively used than at present. It may be ex- 
pected that expansion of freight station facilities 
will take the form of augmented team trackage, 
warehouse room, and more frequent working of 
houses. Strictly transfer freight will be taken 
from the houses and handled at designated 
transfer stations beyond the congested district. 

Other instances of future excessive congestion 
in freight movement are readily discernible from 
the diagram above referred to. For instance, 
the unbalanced use of tracks in Railroad Avenue 
will become more pronounced and operations as 
now conducted at Kansas City Junction entirely 
impracticable. 

Briefly stated, the present and future prob- 
lems in railroad operation involve the following 
changes: 


1. The elimination of interference between 
north-south and east-west movements in the 
vicinity of Railroad Avenue and the Illinois 
Central tracks. 

2. Reduction in interference between freight 
and passenger movements. 

9 


3. Reduction in interference at Kansas City 
Junction. 


[ 67 ] 


tate (Dy 12) {Oe Iai dk 


4. Inereased capacity of freight stations. 

5. Removal of the Southern Railroad freight 
house to the Calhoun Avenue district. 

6. Classification yards to be enlarged and in 
some instances relocated. 


No solution is practicable that will remove 
every vestige of interference, nor can a plan be 
devised that will completely satisfy so many rail- 
roads in this highly competitive territory. It is 
believed that the following scheme is feasible and 
will produce satisfactory results. The proposed 
plan (see Plates No. 26 and No. 28) is based 
upon the following changes: 

(a) Construction of double-track elevated 
line, starting from near the Frisco Bridge, fol- 


MEMPHIS 


| TENNESSEE 


| 

| DIAGRAM SHOWING 

},ROUTING AND VOLUME OF 

FREIGHT CAR MOVEMENT 
OF ALL RAILROADS 


FOR MONTH OF OCTOBER 1922 


BARTHOLOMEW 


HARLAND 


S 
Xr 
&, 


CRIEP vy 


NCE&STL_ SOUTHERN 


: IC RR, | 
MO PAC me 


lowing Virginia Avenue and coming to grade in 
Railroad Avenue in the vicinity of Fourth 
Street. All through Frisco freight will use this 
elevated line; a connection to the Harahan 
Bridge to be also provided. 

(b) Abandonment of the Calhoun Avenue 
yard and freight station by the Frisco Railroad 
and its joint use by the Missouri Pacific, St. L. 
& S. W. and C., R. I. & P. Railroads. 

(ec) Abandonment of the Missouri Pacifie 
freight station, and its use by the Frisco Rail- 
road. 


(d) Southern freight house to be abandoned 
and C., R. I. & P. freight station to be occupied 
by the Southern Railway. 


RR 


INION 


wa a 


Sas 


MoO. PAC. RR 


SOUTHERN 


eae TFORREST YARD 


FREIGHT CAR MOVEMENT 
INDICATED BY SOLID BLACK ARCAS 


aus | 


mee cans 
SCALE IN CARS 
Note ~ Base Map Not To Scale 


Plate No. 30. The comparative volume of freight car movement is indicated by the 
width of line. 


[ 68 ] 


Ce Lee Tay. Lae Lae N 


NG LEN 


G 


Co Oy ME NI WS Se @y de 


MEMPHIS 


TENNESSEE 


DIAGRAM SHOWING 
EFFECT UPON TRAFFIC 
MOVEMENTS OF 
PROPOSED REVISIONS IN 
OPERATING METHODS 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW CITY PLAN ENGINEER 
1922 


PRESENT SOUTHERN 
FREIGHT STATION 
TO BE ABANDONED 


PROPOSED 
ST.L.ES.F. YARD 


«FRISCO ELEVATED 
S 


SOUTH YARD 


Plate No. 31. 


(e) Freight stations to be enlarged. 

(f) Construction of a small freight yard by 
the Frisco Railroad between its bridge and Kan- 
sas Street. 

(g) Sargent Yard to be used chiefly as a 
collecting yard for industrial ears for Union 
Railway, St. L. & S. W., N., C. & St. L. and L. 
& N. Railroads. 

(h) Construction of yard and shops for use 
of Union Railway, C., R. I. & P. and St. L. & 
S. W. north of the city to relieve Sargent Yard. 

(i) Construct a three-track elevated line 
(with provision for a fourth track later) along 
the waterfront, eliminating all existing grade 


Contrast with Plate No. 30. 


SARGENT YD 


FORREST YO 


: INTERCHANGE POINTS 
® MO. PAC-1.C.- CRA.EP.-ST.LS.W. 
®@ MO. PAC-ST.L.ESF.-C.RIEP.-STLS.W. 
@ STLESF.-LC 
) ST.L.E SF.- SOUTHERN-N.C.EST.L 
) SOUTHERN-L.EN. 
® |.C.- SOUTHERN 
UNION-LC. 
) M.\W. S.- UNION 
ELEN 
@ L.EN.- ST.L.ESF. 


FREIGHT 
INDICATED Bi 


AOVEMENT 
BLACK AREAS 


SCALE IN CAR 


N CARS 
Note — Base Map Not To Scale 


Interference is practically eliminated. 


crossings from Beale Avenue to and including 
Jefferson Avenue. 

(j) Revise interchange methods. 

(k) Unification and joint use of tracks in 
Railroad Avenue. 


(1) Miscellaneous yards. 
EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES 
(a) Elevated Freight Line: 


The construction of a double-track elevated 
through freight line is of prime importance to 
the complete plan, as by this means interference 
with Illinois Central freight and passenger traf- 
fie is avoided. This one piece of work is most 


[ 69 J 


Ble Nea Rete Om heel 


MEMPHIS 


TENNESSEE 


Jie- Mo. Daciric 
Yy FON OB 


if 


DIAGRAM SHOWING. 
ROUTING AND VOLUME 
OF FREIGHT CAR 
MOVEMENT OF THE 
SOUTHERN RAILROAD 


IONTH OF OCTORER “1922 


Plate No. 32. Illustrating present routing and methods of interchanging cars of individual railroads. 


Cm eee y, Bae Age NN eNG: 


CROP M MAF Ss Sk OeN 


desirable and could well be undertaken now. 
One feature of this project is the improved 
grade that will result, it being practicable to 
obtain a maximum of 0.6%, as against the pres- 
ent grade of about 1%. If used exclusively by 
the Frisco Railroad, the elevated freight line will 
be effective in relieving congestion, but a connec- 
tion should be provided to make the elevated 
accessible to those roads using the Harahan 
Bridge. Frisco passenger trains would not take 
the elevated, but would continue to operate on 
the surface as at present. 

(b) Calhoun Avenue Yard: 

It is clear from Plates No. 28 and No. 31 that 


—TO_ CINCINNATI 
CHICAGO & ST.LOUIS 
— 


the abandonment of this yard by the Frisco and 
its use by the M. P., C., R. I. & P. and the St. L. 
& S. W. will do away with a large amount of 
traffic interference, as both passenger and freight 
trains of these roads at present cross the very 
considerable Frisco traffic into and out of Cal- 
houn Yards. With the removal of the shops the 
entire area can be used for yard and freight 
station purposes. 

(ec) Missouri Pacifie and Frisco Freight Sta- 
tions: 

The exchange of Missouri Pacific and Frisco 
freight stations will eliminate interference in 
their working and provide both roads with the 


DIAGRAM SHOWING 
ROUTING AND VOLUME 
OF PASSENGER TRAIN 

MOVEMENT 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW 
1922 


—TO ST.LOUIS 
CHICAGO & WEST 


x 


(UNION STATION, . 
LEN RR a % \ 


TO ST.LOUIS & 
KANSAS CITY 


_ CITY LIMITS _ 


Fo vickseuRG 


R DAY 


!O TRAINS DEI 


TO SHEFFIELD- 


TO BIRMINGHAM >> 


Plate No. 33. The width of line indicates the comparative density of passenger train 
movements. Note reverse movements and interference. 


PLN. 


Regs ber Olriae dl 


area needed for expansion. If an equitable ex- 
change of these properties cannot be effected, it 
is suggested that the Frisco locate its freight 
station on Calhoun Avenue between Fourth 
Street and Rayburn Avenue. 


(d) Southern Freight Station: 


One of the chief objections to the Southern 
Railway locating its freight station within the 
Calhoun Avenue district is the difficulty in reach- 
ing and operating such a station on account of 
track congestion within that district. Should 
the elevated line be built and the Southern Rail- 
way take over the present C., R. I. & P. station 
or develop their own property in the vicinity, 
this objection will be removed. 

The elimination of the Southern freight house 
and team tracks from the Adams Avenue 
area is not only necessary to relieve conditions 
at Union Avenue and to permit of a develop- 
ment nearby commensurate with the importance 
of this location, but it is also desirable from an 
operating standpoint, as the interests of both 
the railroad and the shippers generally can be 
better served by moving these facilities to the 
freight house district along Calhoun Avenue. 


(e) Freight Stations: 


The freight stations of all roads but the South- 
ern are grouped together in one location, front- 
ing on Calhoun Avenue from South Fourth 
Street to Kentucky Street, conveniently close to 
the warehouse, wholesale and retail districts, and 
easily reached from any direction. Unfortunate- 
ly both the Grand Central and Union Passenger 
Stations are also in the same locality about 1,000 
feet from each other and sandwiched in, so to 
speak, among the several freight stations. 

So far as service to their patrons is concerned, 
the arrangement is extremely advantageous, but 
from an operating standpoint the situation is 
unsatisfactory, and as a matter of fact could 
scarcely have been intentionally devised to cause 
more congestion by interference with through 
freight, switching, and passenger movements. 

From a glance at the network of tracks in 
Railroad Avenue (Plates Nos. 28, 29, 30 and 
33), particularly at the Illinois Central inter- 
section, and with a realization of the amount of 
traffic passing here one can understand the con- 
fusion that exists. 

The exchange of properties by the Frisco and 
Missouri Pacific, together with the joint use of 


[72 ] 


the latter’s freight station by the Rock Island 
and Cotton Belt lines, would contribute material- 
ly toward the elimination of congestion within 
the district. 

Other freight stations, particularly the N., C. 
& St. L. (L. & N. joint) and the Illinois Central, 
will soon require enlargement. The team and 
truck driveway of the N., C. & St. L. freight 
house is much too narrow, and the entire layout 
is cramped. It is evident that additional room 
will shortly be necessary. It is especially desira- 
ble to secure a better approach to the yard from 
the main line in Railroad Avenue. A transfer 
platform elsewhere would relieve conditions 
somewhat, this work now being performed with- 
in the freight house proper. 

The Ilnois Central freight house would ob- 
tain some relief through the withdrawal of the 
Cotton Belt. If additional room is needed, 
its extension across Calhoun Avenue will be 
necessary. 

If the Rock Island continues to use its pres- 
ent freight house, there is space in its vicinity 
to eare for future requirements. 

A special study was made to show the origin 
and destination of L. C. L., or less than earload 
freight, handled through the railroad freight 
houses, and transported by teams and trucks 
over city streets. 

The specific purposes of this investigation 
were: 


1. To determine the suitability of location of 
the present freight stations. 

2. To determine whether a different distri-— 
bution of freight stations might be necessary or 
desirable. 

3. To indicate the intensity of use of streets 
by this class of traffic. 


In the preparation of this study it was neces- 
sary to examine and copy the data from about 
100,000 dray tickets, which represented one 
week’s business through all freight houses. This 
work was performed by the clerical forces of 
the railroads under the direction of the City 
Planning Commission. 

The total L. C. L. freight tonnage handled by 
all lines for one week amounted to 9,870 tons, 
divided into outbound 7,020 tons and inbound 
2,850 tons. From the information secured, three 
diagramatiec plans were made to illustrate graph- 
ically the origin, destination and distribution of 
this tonnage. 


Gila 


oe ee Ne Nee NEG 


Ce Oe eMac Sala O uN 


MEMPHIS 


ENN RS is) a 
PLAN SHOWING 
ORIGIN AND DESTINATION 


OF LCL. FREIGHT 
1923 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW CITY PLAN ENGINEER. 
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 


NOTE:— 
EACH DOT 
REPRESENTS THE POINT 


SHIPMENTS \ 
IN THE FREIGHT STATION DISTRICT ARE}! | 
RAILROADS } 


, ai (A = = {= 

j / £ / Xo 
a p L_é = \ 7 , é 
mine AP A=::=——- a=——— eva ion 


du 


Plate No. 34. Each dot represents the point of origin or destination of one or more L. C. L. 
shipments during a representative week of 1923. 


The first diagram, Plate No. 34, was drawn 
to indicate, as closely as could be plotted, the 
actual origin and destination of the shipments, 
and is really the location of the various estab- 
lishments receiving and shipping in less than 
carload lots. For convenience the city was di- 
vided into zones numbering 1 to 40. On refer- 
ring to Plate 34, it will be at once apparent that 
zones 5 to 10, inclusive, contain the greatest 
number of individual shippers, and that the 
concentration is particularly dense in the vicin- 
ity of Union Avenue and Main Street, or, say, 
from Gayoso Avenue northward to slightly be- 
yond Jefferson Avenue. This is typically a re- 
tail district and it is characteristic of it that 
inbound shipments greatly exceed the outbound 
in number. This will be noted from diagram, 
Plate No. 35, which also shows that the zone 
distribution of tonnage does not coincide with 
the number of establishments. 


Diagram, Plate No. 35, indicates by zones the 
percentage distribution of L. C. L. tonnage and 
also carries a statement of inbound and out- 
bound tonnage separately of each zone. From 
an examination of this diagram it will be ob- 
served that from the standpoint of tonnage, 
zones 1, 3, 6, 2, 8 and 16, in the order named, 
are the heaviest contributors to freight house 
business. The firms in these zones are predomi- 
nantly wholesalers and distributors of heavy 
merchandise, and the outbound greatly exceeds 
the inbound freight movement. 

The center of all L. C. L. freight tonnage, as 
is indicated on the plan, is at Third Street and 
Pontotoe Avenue, only about 1,200 feet from 
the general freight station district and 5,500 
feet, or slightly over one mile, from the South- 
ern Railway’s freight station. 

Plate No. 36, diagram showing distribution 
and movement of L. C. L. freight, is designed 


[73 ] 


Fe IaNvA Si 


Roper 20 er oo 


to show graphically the amount of tonnage flow- 
ing to and from the various zones. No attempt 
was made to determine the extent of use of 
individual streets, but the importance of Front, 
Main, Second and Third Streets as approaches 
to the freight stations is forcefully illustrated. 


In order to avoid showing the operations of 
individual railroads, freight destined to and 
from the Mobile & Ohio and Southern Railways 
was included in that for the general freight sta- 
tion district along Calhoun Avenue. 


It will be noted from this diagram that the 
district producing the most tonnage is that area 
bounded by the Mississippi River, Main Street, 
Union Avenue and Broadway. Practically sixty- 
five per cent of all L. C. L. freight tonnage orig- 
inates from or is destined to points within about 
one mile of the freight house district, or an area 
bounded by the river to the west, Union Ave- 


nue, Manassas Street, Colorado and Walker 
Streets. 


Within an area enclosed by the river, Poplar 
Boulevard, Bellevue Boulevard and Trigg Ave- 
nue, ninety-three per cent of all L. C. L. freight 
tonnage originates. Outside of the area only 
about seven per cent originates. 


In conclusion, it is at once apparent from this 
study that the freight station district along Cal- 
houn Avenue is as conveniently located as it is 
practicable to make it, taking into consideration 
both the needs of the great majority of shippers 
and the position the railroads occupy. About 
two-thirds of all tonnage is outbound, for which 
present location provides a down-grade truck 
haul for the shipper. 


Other than some re-arrangement of existing 
freight stations and the removal of the Southern 
Railway station to Calhoun Avenue, recommend- 


PLAN AND TABLE ‘SHOWING 

| DISTRIBUTION BY ZONES 
OF 

LCL. FREIGHT TONNAGE 
| 1923 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW CITY PLAN ENGINEER 
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 


OF L.C.L FREIGHT, BOTH 
INBOUND AND OUTBOUND 


Fi RGE LIN} 
FOR RAIL-RIVER FRET RMINAL 


FEDERAL Ba 


aS 


i 


+s N, - Ih 


“this Sass 
ss 


“Ai 
City _LiniTS | 4688) 


Plate No. 35. 


Note the closeness of the center of tonnage to the freight station district. 


Cela SLY. By LAr NeN 


LEN 


G COR hice Maal Sa San OmeN 


ed in the foregoing paragraphs, no change in 
the distribution of freight stations is suggested. 
At some future time, as the city develops, it is 
probable that one or two other stations designed 
to provide more direct service to North Memphis 
and East Memphis will be required. The pres- 
ent grouping of freight stations closely approxi- 
mates in effect that of a single union station, 
but is much more efficient in operation. 

The widening of South Front Street, Second 
Street, Rayburn Boulevard and Calhoun Ave- 
nue, provided by the major street plan, will 
ereatly benefit the freight station district and 
make it still more accessible to shippers of 
freight. The heavy concentration of this traffic 
from about Union Avenue to the freight station 
district is shown by Plate No. 36. The fact that 


DIAGRAM. SHOWING 
DISTRIBUTION AND MOVEMENT 
OF LCL. FREIGHT 


FOR ONE YEAR 
1923 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW CITY PLAN ENGINEER 
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 


this concentration is outside of and beyond the 
influence of uptown traffic is particularly for- 
tunate, as no confusion is caused by eross-eur- 
rents of traffic, such as would exist if the freight 
stations and their patrons were, for example, at 
opposite ends of Main Street. 


(f) Frisco Yard: 


This proposed yard at the bridge end is main- 
ly for the purpose of working the Frisco freight 
station in its new location, for collecting cars 
from various industries and for some inter- 
change. Its capacity would be about 300 ears, 
but other available land in the vicinity could, 
if used, bring it to 700 or 800 ears. The ar- 
rangement would be such that the high-speed 
through freight would follow the outside tracks 


} MHDS WW AY 


A|—93% OF ALL - 
LCL. FREIGHT 
T 


Js@ 


| \ MSLEMORE 


AL BARGE 
RAIL-RiVER Tee ERMINAL 


ER, 


TRIGG 


FED 
__FOR 


69) 


LIMITS 


WO 


BELLEVUE 


ONLY 7% 

REIGHT TONNAG 

‘ E 
BEYOND THIS BORDER 


® 


EAST PARK Way 


OF ALL L.c.L, 


UNION 


MSLEAN 


NOTE: 

WIOTH OF LINE REPRESENTS TO SCALE 
ESTIMATED TOTAL TONS OF INBOUND AND 
OUTBOUND L.C.L,.FREIGHTs THUS 


100,000 TONS = i 
IN ORDER NOT TO SHOW OPERATIONS OF 
INDIVIDUAL LINES THE FREIGHT OF SOUTHERN 
AND M&O, RAILROADS IS INCLUDEO IN THAT OF 
GENERAL FREIGHT STATION DISTRICT. 


IN THE FREIGHT STATION DISTRICT ARE THE 


On BEAT (3 US 
@INDICATES ZONE NUMBER. 


Plate No. 36. 


The freight station district is conveniently close to its patrons. 


The interchange 


of L. C. L. freight among the eight railroads within the district is accomplished 
with a minimum of trucking. 


by Nal 


Roe OF heel, 


on the south side of the yard, and the passenger 
trains the inside tracks, north side. 


(g) Sargent Yard for Local Freight: 


For the L. & N. and N., C. & St. L. Railroads 
no better location than Sargent Yard and vicin- 
ity could be found for assembling cars to and 
from industries and the freight houses of these 
roads. With the addition of other tracks be- 
tween Kansas City Junction and Aulon, a very 
efficient yard ean be developed for this purpose. 
A considerable amount of interchange might 
still take place here. 


(h) 

Sargent Yard has reached its limit in capac- 
ity and is not well suited for the purpose for 
which it is used. The most suitable location in 
Memphis for a general yard and shops to relieve 
Sargent Yard is believed to be in the vicinity 
of North Yard of the Union Railway. Whether 
this location or another is adopted, the purpose 
sought should be to remove the necessity of 
bringing all Missouri Pacifie freight through the 
most congested district in Memphis for classifi- 
eation and disposal. 

(1) 

An elevated line along the river front, con- 
sisting of the three existing tracks and ultimate- 
ly four tracks, is a necessity to industrial Mem- 
phis, and provision should be made for it in 
any plan adopted. Its purpose will be fourfold, 
viz: To furnish a high-speed passenger line for 
I. C. trains; to reach the proposed yards and 
shops in North Memphis; to afford better access 
to North Memphis, thereby encouraging an in- 


Replacement of Sargent Yard: 


River Elevated Line: 


tensive industrial development there; and to 
eliminate several grade crossings. 

The form which this proposed elevated line 
may take will be dependent upon the ultimate 
scheme of treatment adopted for the river front. 
A conerete trestle of ornamental design and 
noiseless in character might be constructed at 
onee. If the plan shown by Plate No. 37 is fol- 
lowed there might be either a solid fill or trestle 
structure, depending upon whether the space be- 
neath the tracks might be sufficiently valuable 
to reclaim for some commercial purpose. It is 
estimated that a four-track structure would 
cover an area 58 feet wide for a distance of 
2,600 feet (Beale Avenue to Jefferson Avenue), 
equivalent to 150,000 square feet, or 314 acres. 

Any treatment of the levee tracks must take 
into consideration the needs of navigation, and 
no project should be considered that will in any 
way interfere with or impede river traffic as now 
earried on by the packets. 


(j) Interchange Methods: 

It is to be noted that the greatest volume of 
interchange business takes place in the vicinity 
of Railroad Avenue and the approaches to the 
passenger stations and freight stations, and at 
kK. C. Junction, the two places in Memphis most 
unsuitably arranged for this purpose. This is 
especially true of Railroad Avenue and the Ilh- 
nois Central intersection, where the stalling of 
a single train can block practically the entire 
transportation system of Memphis. 

At K. C. Junction a serious condition is caused | 
by the crossing at grade of the Frisco and 
Southern, and the Union, Southern and N., C. 
& St. L. The situation here is also complicated 


VE 
A 


ASHING TON, AVE 


CHANGE 


PPNTQTGC AYE 


ia | | BEALY 
p 


= TO CHICAGO 


f 
. 
ej 
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1 


oe a oe Se 
st 
fe} 


-_—,— 


PROFILE OF PROPOSED FOUR TRACK ELEVATED LINE ALONG LEVEE 


UNION, STL.eS.F &1.C. RAILROADS 
HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW CITY PLAN ENGINEER 


APRIL-1923 


SCALE 1 200FT. V.I= 20FT 


Plate No. 37. 


[ 76 ] 


By elevating the levee tracks, the railroad grade will be decreased. 


Care ils y: 


12) Wy Ak IN INE GE INT 6; 


COMM SMe las Se le OmeN 


CHART SHOWING 
INTERCHANGE OF CARS OF VARIOUS RAILROADS FOR MONTH OF OCT. 1922. 


ILL. CENT. _—— 


7 ret 


ee 


4 
saa ome ae 


Souris ee ob cee 
aRGELINE] | 180 


All interchange with the Barge Line is handled by Frisco. 


382 883 
1268 33) 


Individual Railroads are not shown. 


Plate No. 38. Memphis is an important interchange point. 


by the yard switching operations of the Union 
Railway and the Southern, the latter using that 
portion of their right-of-way north of K. C. 
Junction as a yard. Passenger trains of the 
Frisco, Southern, L. & N. and N., C. & St. L. 
all make this junction. 

A certain amount of interchange is unavoid- 
able both at K. C. Junction and within the 
freight and passenger terminal district, but 
practically all of the cars now received and de- 
livered at K.‘C. Junction and a large propor- 
tion of those similarly exchanged in the vicinity 
of the Illinois Central Railroad and Railroad 
Avenue can with advantage be taken care of 
at other points in outlying districts where freer 
movement is possible. 

A widely used and universally approved 
method of relieving terminal congestion, where 
the interchange of cars among various railroads 
forms a large proportion of terminal movement, 
is for each road to establish adequate classifica- 
tion yards beyond the confines of the city, these 
yards to be connected by track used exclusively 
for common communication. 

The situation of the railroads in Memphis is 
favorably adapted to this plan, at least so far 
as the Y. & M. V., I. C., Frisco, Southern, Union, 
N., C. & St. L., and L. & N. roads are concerned. 
Each of these lines, with the exception of the 
N., C. & St. L. and Union Railways, have yards 
to the south and east of the city limits which 
can be made intercommunicating by means of 
an additional track along the present belt line 
of the Illinois Central. 


The construction of a yard near Aulon by 
the N., C. & St. L. and possibly also of a small 
one at the same place by the Union Railway 
would complete a belt of yards and track. 

It is practicable to make connections with the 
Illinois Central at points near to the various 
outer yards as has been done at Yale Yard of 
the Frisco, and the Illinois Central should, with 
the addition of another track or of a few passing 
sidings, be capable of handling the interchange 
traffic among the roads mentioned. (See Plates 
No. 26 and No. 38.) 

As a result of negotiations with the railroads, 
the city administration has recently secured a 
re-arrangement of tracks in Railroad Avenue in 
the vicinity of Florida Street that will materially 
relieve congestion due to switching movements, 
besides providing good connections between the 
city’s river terminal and the railroads entering 
Memphis. 


(k) Unification : 
Railroad Avenue: 


Joint Use of Tracks in 


From an economic standpoint the joint use of 
tracks and even of other facilities, such as freight 
houses, yards, engine houses, shops and repair 
tracks is usually justified if for no other reason 
than the consequent reduction in the overhead 
expense entailed by the maintenance of so many 
different establishments performing the same 
functions. 

In order that benefit may be derived from the 
common use of facilities, it is necessary that all 
parties participating therein work together in 


[77 ] 


The Memphis Union Station. The Grand Central Station is two blocks west. 


peace and harmony. This is a condition often 
difficult to fulfill, particularly in the case of 
lines highly competitive and of those whose 
working characteristics are essentially different 
or according to widely diverse standards. Such 
obstacles to close agreement exist, of course, 
among the railroads entering Memphis. As all 
but two terminate there, however, they are gen- 
erally dependent upon one another for business, 
particularly that of through freight, and it is 
therefore of interest to them to see that the 
interchange of freight is accomplished in the 
quickest possible time. For this reason closer 
co-operation is greatly to be desired and may in 
the future be expected. 

An important instance in which the principle 
of unification or joint use of facilities is appli- 
eable relates to the tracks in Railroad Avenue 


from the I. C. intersection to K. C. Junction. ° 


The seven lines of track in this street are owned 
and operated by four railroads. (See Plate No. 
29.) The trackage is sufficient. to meet all needs 
so far as the total amount of traffic is concerned, 
yet each road finds itself hampered at certain 


[ 78 ] 


periods by an overload of traffic on its own 
tracks, and this during a time when other tracks 
are not in use. 

In order to obviate this condition and to pro- 
vide a more flexible movement through this im- 
portant traffic thoroughfare, it is recommended | 
that a portion or all of the tracks in Railroad 
Avenue be thrown open to common use. Prac- 
tically all the new construction work required 
would be a few additional switches and inter- 
locking devices at K. C. Junction and the I. C. 
intersection. 


(1) Miscellaneous Yards: 


Increased yard capacity is needed in the im- 
mediate vicinity of the freight houses in order 
that the houses can be more conveniently and 
quickly worked and ears destined to and from 
other lines readily sorted and stored, ready for 
disposition. This mainly applies to the C., R. 
I. & P., L. & N. and’ N., C. & St. Lo Railreaae 
and to a lesser extent to the Union Railway, 
Cotton Belt and the I. C. Railroads. 

The enlargement of the Noneonnah Yard of 


Ce Te ey: 


Pela wN ON Lene G 


Ca One View Nie lee San Sie le Onn 


the Illinois Central is restricted lengthwise by 
its location between the I. C. and Y. & M. V. 
main lines, but it ean be extended laterally to 
advantage. Its further development will proba- 
bly consist in construction of a separate yard 
for storage purposes, and departure tracks just 
east and south of the wye connections to the 
I. C. and Y. & M. V., respectively. 

The Yale Yard has a capacity of 950 cars, or 
about a third more than the Calhoun Avenue 
Yard. It has ample room for expansion and is 
conveniently located. It may be expected that 
as business increases or if the proposed through 
elevated freight line is constructed, the Yale 
Yard will be developed into a complete termi- 
nal. It is now used principally for the storage 
and repair of bad order ears. 

In order to secure more efficient handling of 
freight, both locally and to connecting lines, it 
is essential that the N., C. & St. L. construct 
near Memphis a modern classification yard, en- 
gine terminal and shops. A suitable location 
has been secured at a point somewhat beyond 
the city limits. 


As a terminal the Jackson Avenue Yard of 
the L. & N. Railroad is very unsatisfactory, prin- 
cipally on account of its proximity to Jackson 
Avenue and Seventh Street, two heavily trav- 
eled thoroughfares. These being across the 
throat of the yards, switching operations neces- 
sarily interfere seriously with street traffic. It 
is recommended that the Jackson Avenue Yard 
be abandoned and that Leewood Yard be en- 
larged and equipped with terminal facilities. It 
is understood that this development has been de- 
eided upon by this railroad and that the work 
is under way. This will result in the elimina- 
tion of the constant switching across Jackson 
Avenue, and there should be left across this 
thoroughfare only one track to accommodate 
interchange switching movement. 

The Rock Island Railroad has no terminal 
facilities in Memphis aside from its freight sta- 
tion and yard on Calhoun Avenue. There is 
sufficient space available near the end of the 
Harahan Bridge for a small yard with round- 
house, but it is believed that a yard here would 
be too small to serve the purpose after a few 


Illinois Central Railroad crossing, Broadway. (Railroad Avenue.) 


[79 ] 


EU LNe Ae 


Re Je 1? Oe Tay 1h 


years. <A better arrangement for the present 
would be for both the Rock Island and Cotton 
Belt to use the South Yards of the I. C. R. R., 
which are well situated for those roads. Later, 
under the proposed plan, both the Rock Island 
and Cotton Belt can combine their interests 
with the Missouri Pacific, using a joint yard in 
North Memphis or elsewhere. 

A more intensive development for railroad 
and industrial purposes of that section of the 
city along Wolf River from about Washington 
Avenue northward should be provided for by 
grading and filling out to the water’s edge. 


(m) Union Station: 


No very satisfactory solution of the Union 
Station problem is possible so far as the present 
sites are concerned, as both are too limited, espe- 
cially in length, for a satisfactory track layout. 

Under existing conditions the ground now oc- 
eupied by the Memphis Union Station Company 
(see Plate No. 28), fronting Calhoun Avenue 
between Rayburn Boulevard and South Second 
Street, is more suitable for a station to accom- 
modate all roads than is the Grand Central prop- 
erty, as several through tracks of ample length 
are possible along the east side of the station. 
It is doubtful, however, if the expense involved 
in the additional construction necessary to bring 
the Illinois Central into and through this loca- 
tion will ever be justified. Some compensation 
for this expenditure would result to the Illinois 
Central in their being able to develop the space 
now occupied by the Grand Central Station into 
a freight terminal of remarkable efficiency. 

The present stations are so new, modern and 
conveniently located that their consolidation 
into a single unit either here or in some other 
part of the city is an exceedingly remote con- 
tingency. Should the interchange of passengers, 
baggage and express assume large proportions, 
moving platforms between stations are suggested 
to care for it. 


At the Grand Central Station some improve- 
ment is immediately desirable in the method of 
earing for vehicular traffic. Private autos and 
independently operated taxis taking on and dis- 
charging passengers before the Main Street en- 
trance to the station interfere with regular street 
traffic, and as this is the most convenient en- 
trance for the public, as well as the station’s 
many tenants, it is important that the fault be 


[ 80 } 


corrected. This can be accomplished by moving 
the mail section of the station farther southward, 
thus utilizing more of the now wasted area un- 
der the elevated tracks. In the space so gained 
a circle for vehicles can be constructed and 
ample platforms provided, all under cover. 


GRADE CROSSING ELIMINATION 


Both the city of Memphis and the railroads 
are fortunate in the extent to which grade cross- 
ings have been eliminated within the past few 
years. The manner in which this problem has 
been met is the best that could have been adopt- 
ed, taking into consideration the tremendous cost 
involved and the future interdependence of city 
and railroads. 

The following recommendations concern prin- 
cipally those grade crossings within the city 
proper, particular attention being called to those 
requiring early treatment. (See Plate No. 26.) 


The L. & N. Railroad: 


The L. & N. Railroad from the river front to 
Leewood Yards is practically a switching line 
only, and movements over this piece of track are 
so infrequent that grade separation generally is 
not necessary so long as the present volume of 
traffic is not greatly exceeded. 

The presence of the Jackson Avenue Yard, 
however, is the cause of serious delays to street 
traffic over both Seventh Street and Jackson 
Avenue. Conditions here are such that early 
relief is imperative, but as this yard is to be 
abandoned, as previously explained, and only. 
one track left for switching movement, no grade 
separation will be required. 

Other streets, where separation of grades is 
not now necessary but may be in the future, are 
High Street, viaduct; Decatur Street, depressed 
tracks and viaduct; North Bellevue Boulevard, 
depressed tracks and viaduct; North Parkway, 
raised tracks and subway. 


Illinois Central and Union Railway from 
Aulon to L. & N. Crossing: 


Leave Union Railway at grade, as this line is 
used for switching only. 

From Poplar Boulevard northward on the 
Illinois Central, track elevation with subways 
will be the most satisfactory method of dispos- 
ing of such crossings as Oxford Street, Broad 
Street, Summer Avenue and Raleigh Road. At 
Poplar Boulevard a viaduct is reeommended to 


Ce er bay 


Pe eae PNG sl aN G Gy 


Co OR Vie NESS S Sela Onn 


cross over the tracks and property of the Union, 
Iliinois Central and N., C. & St. L. Railroads. 


Southern Railway from Union Avenue to For- 
rest Yard: 


Under the assumption that the freight house 
and yard at Lauderdale Street will be aban- 
doned, and that the intervening tracks to K. C. 
Junction are used purely for the service of in- 
dustries along that line and not as a general 
yard, it is not important that street and railroad 
grades between Union Avenue and Kansas City 
Junction be separated. 

It is assumed that the Southern Railway will 
abandon its facilities north of Union Avenue, for 
the separation of grades along this track will 
soon become so necessary as to warrant such 


abandonment. Beale Avenue is difficult to elim- 
inate either with subway or viaduct, but a sub- 
way with track raise of at least four feet is the 
more desirable. 

In the preliminary transportation report a 
subway was recommended at Linden Avenue to 
replace a pile trestle bridge at that point. A 
concrete subway has now been completed. 

At Vance Avenue and Walnut Street subways 
are suggested, with a track raise of not more 
than three feet, and a reduction in the number 
of tracks from three to two. 

For St. Paul Avenue, East Georgia Avenue, 
Somerville Street and Central Avenue, subways 
are recommended. 

From K. C. Junction to Forrest Yard the 
need for grade separation is not urgent except 


McLemore Avenue viaduct, recently completed. Illustrating separation of dangerous 
grade crossing. 


[81 ] 


FL Nae Amel: 


Wey 1d) 1D (Od gh 4h 


in the case of East Parkway and South Cooper 
Street. 

The Willett Street crossing can best be elim- 
inated by viaduct, involving a depression of 
tracks of from six to eight feet, or sufficiently 
to adjust the grade of the railroad, it being on 
a summit through here. Other recommenda- 
tions are as follows: McLean Boulevard, sub- 
way; South Cooper Street, depressed tracks and 
viaduct; East Parkway, viaduct. 


The St. L. & S. F. R. R. from K. C. Junction 
to Yale Yards: 


The East McLemore Avenue crossing with the 
Frisco is so situated that a subway is desirable 
and practicable. Little or no track raise will 
be required. 

At South Parkway it is reeommended that the 
tracks be depressed about six feet and a viaduct 
constructed. Willett Street may well be closed 
at the tracks and diverted to the Parkway. 

For present and proposed intersecting streets 
between the K. C. Junction and Yale Yards sub- 
ways are desirable, although a final decision 
will depend upon the established grades of the 
streets. 


The Illinois Central and Yazoo & Mississippi 
Valley Railroads: 


Mallory Avenue and the Y. & M. V. R. R. 
can be preferably separated by use of a subway, 
with a track raise of approximately three feet. 

At the LeClere Avenue, Florida Street and 
Axie Avenue intersections with the Y. & M. V. 
R. R., viaduets would be well adapted to exist- 
ing grades of street and railroad. 

At the intersections of South Parkway, Axie 
and Mikado Avenues with the Illinois Central, 
viaducts will work out to the best advantage and 
fit in well with adjacent property. 


Union Railway (Belt Line) : 


The traffic over that branch of the Union Rail- 
way extending from Sargent Yard southwest- 
wardly to the cotton compress near Nonconnah 
Yards is light and the grade crossings of this 
line may remain indefinitely. The important 
ones later to require attention are at South 
Bellevue Boulevard and South Parkway. In 
each case a subway will most satisfactorily fit 
existing conditions. 


Miscellaneous Grade Crossings: 
The crossings along Railroad Avenue where 


[ 82 ] 


grade separation yet remains to be accomplished 
require difficult and expensive construction. The 
closeness of the track spacing (12 feet 5 inches 
on centers) practically prohibits viaduct con- 
struction, although this type is more suitable 
than subways at Neptune Street and Lauder- 
dale Street. The common use of the seven rights- 
of-way in this district, as suggested previously, 
warrants wider spacing of tracks so as to use 
the whole 100 feet of width of Railroad Avenue. 
This could be accomplished by utilizing the 
1214-foot strip along the north side of Railroad 
Avenue which is owned by the City of Memphis 
and is at present unoccupied. 

At Lauderdale Street, Orleans Street and 
Florida Street, subways are fairly well adapted 
to existing street grades. 

To facilitate approach to the Harahan Bridge 
and to secure maximum use of the Georgia Ave- 
nue river-rail terminal warehouses requires the 
separation of the grade of Carolina Avenue and 
the Iron Mountain Railroad tracks on Kentucky 
Street and the Frisco Railroad tracks on Kan- 
sas Street. Under the terms of an existing con- 
tract between the City of Memphis and these 
railroads the entire cost of property damage for 
gerade separation at these points would have to 
be borne by the city if undertaken before 1925. 
This is also true of other crossings on Railroad 
Avenue west of Porter Street. 

Through the efforts of the city administra- 
tion, the several railroads involved in the Belle- 
vue Boulevard crossing have agreed upon a sub- 
way at this location, and its construction is - 
under way. 


At North Second Street, just beyond the 
north city limits, the grade crossing with the 
Illinois Central Railroad can be eliminated either 
by subway or viaduct, preferably the former if 
drainage can be obtained. The track is not sus- 
ceptible to a raise much in excess of three feet 
on account of industries close by. 

Where McLean Boulevard and Willett Street 
eross the N., C. & St. L. and Union Railways, 
subways would be the preferred type of con- 
struction. 

The foregoing description covers all of the 
crossings likely to demand attention in the near 
future. The various projects are in general so 
far apart on each railroad that they can be 
treated as single problems. Those on the Illinois 
Central from Poplar Boulevard northward 


Get eee, 


EE ee ae Ne Neel Ne G 


COR MaMa S = Sash OueN 


would, however, be included in one program of 
track elevation over this line. 

It should be stated that the elimination of 
certain grade crossings made by the tracks on 
the river front, mentioned in a previous section 
of the study, is incidental to a desirable raise 
of these tracks. The crossings are not of them- 
selves sufficiently important to warrant the ex- 
pense of grade separation at this time. 


River TRANSPORTATION 


When present projects are completed, the 
river terminals of Memphis will be unexcelled 
by those of any other inland city of the United 
States. 

There is no question of the adequacy or fit- 
ness of the Barge Terminal now completed, or 
of the suitability of its design and location, for 
it is conceded that these could not be improved 
upon. Some of the advantages that should ac- 
erue to Memphis by reason of its modern river 
terminals, and methods of encouraging their 
more extended use by local industries, are here 
suggested. 


THE PRESENT River-To-RAtL TERMINAL (For 
PACKAGE FREIGHT) 


The River-to-Rail Terminal of Memphis (see 
Plate No. 29) will consist of two separate units, 
each of a different type. The unit now in use, 
the Georgia Avenue terminal, was acquired by 
the city in 1918. It consists of a freight receiv- 
ing shed on the top of the river bank, conveyors, 
and a stationary landing barge at the water’s 
edge. A warehouse is operated in conjunction 
with the terminal, but under different manage- 
ment. 


The freight receiving shed, located at the foot 

of Georgia Avenue, is about 100 by 100 feet 
square, having 10,000 square feet of floor area. 
General offices are above it. In the shed, the 
floor of which is about at wagon load level, local 
freight is received and delivered. 

The conveyor consists of two endless parallel 
chains, seven feet apart, operated by one 25 h. p. 
motor. One chain moves downward, the other 
upward, and their rate of speed is about sixty 
feet per minute. The chains travel in a slot 
formed by angle irons, and the lower half is 
carried on rollers in a tunnel underneath. To 
the chains, at 18-foot intervals, are fastened pro- 
jecting lugs which engage a plate bent to receive 


them and which is fastened under the four- 
wheeled trucks used in this service. Truck 
wheels run in a slotted path formed by angle 
irons. The trucks are substantially built and 
have a capacity of one ton. The chain or belt 
is so constructed that it can be shortened by 
removing sections of it, and in this way varying 
stages of the river accommodated. The terminal 
is operative at any stage of water that is likely 
to occur. The capacity of the terminal is about 
700 tons per day. All operations are under 
cover. 

The stationary landing barge is of concrete, 
with a raised wooden deck and covered for almost 
its entire length. The practically continuous 
openings of the river side are provided with 
dropped or adjustable ramps which take up the 
difference in levels of the cargo barge and the 
landing barge. The landing barge is not used 
for storage, but only for loading and unloading 
the trucks, as in ordinary freight house opera- 
tion. 

The storage warehouse consists of a group of 
remodeled one-story brick buildings with wide 
platforms. Its capacity is about 133,500 square 
feet. 


RAILROAD CONNECTIONS 


The Georgia Avenue terminal is served by 
four tracks and a small yard, which is in con- 
venient proximity to the Calhoun Avenue Yard 
of the Frisco Railroad. Under the new arrange- 
ment these tracks will also be accessible to the 
Missouri Pacific, Rock Island and Southern and 
other lines by direct connection in Railroad 
Avenue. 

The Georgia Avenue unit of the city’s termi- 
nals is well adapted for handling package freight 
and freight in uniform containers, grain, coffee, 
sugar in bags, cotton, ete., but it is not suitable 
for bulk materials, such as lumber, steel prod- 
ucts, pipe, brick or coal, for example, nor can it 
be economically arranged for these commodities. 
It can be anticipated, however, that sufficient 
tonnage appropriate to its use will be attracted 
to it even after the new unit is completed, and 
that the Georgia Avenue terminal will continue 
to be of great service. There appears to be no 
good reason why another set of conveyors could 
not be installed and the capacity of this termi- 
nal approximately doubled when the traffic jus- 
tifies the expense. 

A good opportunity presents itself, in connec- 


[ 83 ] 


Be NeeA a 


Laiahl 12 10S ae Ab 


tion with the Georgia Avenue river terminal, for 
the construction of a large industrial unit mod- 
eled somewhat after the Bush Terminal of New 
York City. Such a project would consist of a 
fireproof building, four or five stories high, and 
equipped with light, heat, power and elevator 
service. Ample platform and storage space 
should be provided for the output of its differ- 
ent tenants. The extraordinarily good railroad 
facilities close at hand are a special inducement 
for such an undertaking. It could be built over 
the present site of the warehouse or occupy other 
land in the vicinity. Such industrial incubators, 
as they are called, are especially suitable for 
machine shops, lithographing, light molding, 
eandy manufacturing, and similar lines. 

One objection to the Georgia Avenue terminal 
is its inaccessibility to teams and trucks. Part 
of this is due to bad paving, but principally to 
the necessity of crossing busy railroad switching 
tracks. Then, too, it is further away from the 
business district than any other freight house. 
To overcome those objections, it is proposed that 
either subways be provided on Tennessee Street 
or that switching across this street be restricted 
to certain hours. The street should also be well 
paved. 

It is further recommended that in order to 
widen the scope of the Georgia Avenue terminal 
and bring it into closer relation to its patrons, 
a truck and store door delivery service be inau- 
gurated. The U. 8. Government has in its pos- 
session many trucks that might be put to this 
use, or it may even prove profitable to turn the 
business over to private trucking companies, such 
as is done at Buffalo, N. Y., for example, by the 
barge lines terminating there. 


THE New RaliL-To-River TERMINAL (FoR 
CARLOAD FREIGHT) 


The new unit of the City’s River Terminal, 
now completed, consists of five essential parts, 
viz., the landing barges, the car floats or track 
barges, the cradle and incline, the classification 
yard, and the boat yard. 

The landing barges, or floating transit sheds, 
are two in number, 240 feet long, placed in tan- 
dem and so connected as to be practically con- 
tinuous. Both are covered and are provided 
with doors on both sides. 

The landing barges will at all times be along- 
side the track barges and will be used to facili- 
tate the loading, unloading and classifying of 


[ 84 ] 


freight. They will not be utilized for freight 
storage, but will act as a medium of communi- 
cation between the cargo barges and the freight 
ears on the car barges. 

The two ear floats or track barges are steel, 
270 feet long and 56 feet wide. They are pro- 
vided with three tracks, having a total capacity 
of thirty-six ears. The barges are joined to- 
gether so that the tracks are continuous, yet a 
measure of flexibility afforded. 


The cradle is a wooden framework, which ear- 
ries two railroad tracks, and by means of car 
wheels which support it can be moved up and 
down the fixed incline tracks. The cradle forms 
the necessary adjustment between the relative 
steep incline grade (314%) and the level track 
barges, so that engines and cars can move from 
one to the other at all stages of the river. The 
river end of the cradle is furnished with a hinged 
bridge, called an apron, which gives the required 
flexible connection to the car barge. The tapered 
land end has feather rails, which are special 
rails brought to a wedge point, and which slide 
along the tops of the incline rails as the cradle 
is moved up or down in accordance with the rise 
and fall of the river. 


The incline is a double-track railroad, partly 
on fill and partly on pile trestle, which extends 
out into the river on about a three and one-half 
per cent grade sufficiently far and deep so that 
service can be carried on at low water. The tim- 
bers used in the trestle are creosoted and the 
deck is ballasted. It is designed to carry the 
weight of the cradle and, in addition, the heav- 
iest type of locomotives used in this district. 

The classification yard is a group of eleven — 
tracks and two outside running tracks located 
along Railroad Avenue just west from Pennsyl- 
vania Street. This yard will be used to assemble 
and sort ears to and from industries and rail- 
roads. It is connected by a single track to the 
Georgia Avenue unit and the Frisco Railroad, 
and its east lead terminates in Railroad Avenue, 
which gives direct connection to other railroads. 
The west end of this yard is provided with a 
tail track or prolongation of the ladder track, 
by means of which the yard can be worked. 
This arrangement will minimize the switching 
movements across Pennsylvania Street. The 
yard will have a capacity of about 200 ears. 

The boat yard is a small yard, holding seventy- 
five cars, connected directly at one end to the 


Cis eae: 


ge oem Ne Ne Lee Nias G 


Ce OS ME Mat gona ON 


incline tracks. Its use is primarily to facilitate 
operation of the car barges by acting as a sort 
of storage or hold yard close at hand, thus obvi- 
ating the necessity of the long haul back to the 
elassification yard each time a cut of cars is 
transferred to or from the barges. 

The installation and operation of this termi- 
nal will constitute one of the most ambitious 
projects in waterway development ever under- 
taken by an inland city. The site selected, al- 
though the best available, possessed few natural 
advantages and presented many serious obstacles 
which required courage, ingenuity and large 
expenditures of money to overcome. The total 
eost of this unit of the terminal will exceed 
$1,000,000. 

There is little in the way of suggestion to be 
made that can add to the efficiency of the termi- 
nal that has not already been considered. Pos- 
sibly a freight house or team track yard on Penn- 
sylvania Street, located in that triangular strip 
formed by the ladder track, and worked in con- 
nection with the main yard, would be useful. 


PRESENT AND PROSPECTIVE RIVER TRAFFIC FOR 
BARGE LINES 


The year 1922 is probably fairly representa- 
tive of the kinds and amounts of tonnage now 
transported by the barge line. During 1922 
there were handled by river barges approximate- 
ly 95,000 tons into and out of Memphis, or an 
average of 7,000 tons per month. Of this amount 
about 51,000 tons, or 54%, were transported to 
or from Memphis proper, and 44,000 tons, or 
46%, was interline freight, of which 34,300 tons 
were delivered to and 9,800 tons received from 
the railroads. In other words, Memphis was a 
gateway for 46% of the tonnage entering this 
port, and the originator of 54% of that tonnage. 

The principal items received via barge line by 
Memphis firms were: Sugar, 36%; burlap and 
bagging, 17.30% ; coffee, 10.20% ; molasses and 
syrup, 5.60% ; prepared roofing, 5.60% ; canned 
goods, 5.5%; lard and lard substitutes, 1.60% ; 
beverages, 1.20% ; medicines and toilet prepara- 
tions, 1.40% ; wrapping paper and paper boxes, 
1.0%. The remaining consisted of light metal 
manufactured products and general merchan- 
dise. Outbound shipments were 74% of cotton; 
food, 9.50%; lumber erates, ete., 3.60% ; rice, 
3.40% ; autos, 1%; and the remaining 8.50% 
wooden manufactured products, merchandise, 
vehicle material, ete. 


There are brought into Memphis by the rail- 
roads and other agencies about 4,000,000 tons 
and transported outbound 2,000,000 tons of va- 
rious kinds of freight, or a total into and out 
of Memphis of 6,000,000 tons annually. It ap- 
pears, therefore, that the barge line handles less 
than 1% of the freight of Memphis proper. This 
is not a very large proportion and means should 
be adopted to inerease it. To this end diagrams 
were prepared (Plates No. 40 and No. 41), show- 
ing the origin of the materials used at Memphis 
and the destination of finished products of manu- 
factories forwarded from here. From these dia- 
grams a rough estimate can be made of the kinds 
and amount of tonnage that might properly be 
encouraged to use the river. For example, re- 
ferrmg to the diagram showing origin (Plate 
No. 40), it is seen that divisions Nos. 6, 4, 21, 
and to some extent, 12, 18, 14, 15, 16 and 19, 
are tributary to the river and offer possibilities 
of added tonnage. Of these, 6, 4 and 21 alone 
aggregate 997,000 tons, much of which could no 
doubt advantageously be handled by the barge 
line. Of the finished products shipped from 
Memphis, divisions Nos. 4, 5, 17, 16, 10, 11, 12, 
representing a total of almost 900,000 tons, show 
opportunities for additional traffic. It is seen 
that of a total possible river-borne tonnage of 
2,360,000 tons, the barge line now serves Mem- 
phis to the extent of about 51,000 tons, or 2%. 

From an examination of the diagrams, it is 
evident that in order to obtain a large propor- 
tion of this prospective freight, terminal equip- 
ment must be capable of unloading lumber and 
logs, coal, coke, pig iron, iron and steel products 
and pipe; and of loading lumber products, cot- 
ton seed products, feed, concrete pipe, etc., as 
well as a great variety of miscellaneous mer- 
chandise. 

In order to bring out the specific causes for 
not more heavily patronizing river transporta- 
tion a questionnaire containing twelve possible 
objections was prepared and sent to representa- 
tive firms. The replies were tabulated, with the 
result that the reasons for not using the river 
more extensively are about as follows, in order 
of their importance: 


1. Delays in transit or uncertainty in time 
of delivery, 60%. 

2. Lack of scheduled sailing dates, 49%. 

3. Inaccessibility of river terminals, 44%. 

4. Excessive cost of handling by river, 42%. 


[ 85 ] 


Rela Nears 


1, 1s de Cy IR Ah 


5. Unadaptability of firm’s shipping plat- 
form for handling goods to and from river ter- 
minals, 36%. 

6. Unsatisfactory rates, 20%. 

7. Unsuitability of products for river trans- 
portation, 18%. 

8. Damage to shipments, 16%. 

9. Difficulty of obtaining direct bill of lad- 
mg lL. 

10. Objection of consignee to shipment by 
river, 11%. 

11. Expense of changing shipping methods, 
4%. 


12. Difficulty of obtaining insurance, 2%. 


Particular attention is called to the first four 
items, which constitute by far the largest pro- 
portion of objections. Delays in transit and 
uncertainty in time of delivery can be greatly 
lessened through more efficient terminal facili- 
ties, more careful operation, and fuller co-opera- 
tion with the railroads. 

The lack of scheduled sailing dates may be 
gradually overcome through increasing the num- 
ber of floating units. There seems to be a de- 
mand for daily or at least tri-weekly sailings of 
small, comparatively speedy craft. This need is 
now being met to some extent by the scheduled 
service inaugurated this year between St. Louis 
and Memphis. The accessibility of river termi- 
nals may be improved through direct or store 
door service by truck, as previously suggested, 
or possibly by the location of an off-river freight 
station, so to speak, somewhere closer to the 
center of gravity of freight tonnage. 

The cost of handling by river is objected to 
by a large number of possible patrons of the 
barge line. This cost is made up of several 
items, among which are the necessity of trucking 
to the terminal, cost of preparing and packing 
their shipments in a special way not required 
by railroad service, terminal expense at the re- 
celver’s end, interest on goods in transit and 
other considerations, such as the impossibility of 
reconsigning, milling and taking advantage of 
those transit privileges usually afforded by the 
railroads. 

Certain products are not suitable for shipment 
by barge line, among which are live stock, fruits 
and vegetables, produce generally, fine furniture, 
glassware, porcelain and china, dry goods and 
other articles of high value and more or less 
fragility. It is easily conceivable that eventually 


[ 86 ] 


much of this class of merchandise will be han- 
dled by barge line on quick-moving, especially 
constructed vessels. 

It is an erroneous though popular idea that 
barge lines can exist on low-grade bulk freight. 
This is far from the truth, and it is safe to say 
that if its present revenues depended upon such 
freight, the Federal Barge Line could not show 
any profit whatever. It is important that barge 
line equipment and terminals be built to handle 
all classes of freight from Dresden china to coal 
and pig-iron, and with equal facility. 

Interesting information on the possibilities, 
faults and virtues of transportation by river 
were brought out in answer to the question, 
‘‘Please state your opinion of the merits of 
transportation by river and give any sugges- 
tions that you may have tending toward its 
improvement or encouragement.’’ Answers to 
this question are contained in the files of the 
City Planning Commission. One of the signifi- 
cant points made was that Memphis, through its 
neglect to take full advantage of river trans- 
portation, is not securing sufficient consideration 
in the matter of favorable rate-making by the 
Interstate Commerce Commission. 


Packet TERMINALS 


River packet business is of a distinct charae- 
ter and quite different from that conducted by 
the barge line. It partakes both of the nature 
of express matter and of that handled by the 
local freight train. The packet is not well 
adapted to co-operate with or act as a feeder to 
the railroads on account of its small capacity, 
the diversity of its cargo, and the fact that 
packet business is not subject to the same trans- 
portation rules and regulations as are the rail- 
roads. The packet is more the natural ally of 
motor trucks and of barge lines, with which it 
should co-operate. Where good roads parallel 
the river the motor truck is a competitor of the 
packet, but where such roads radiate from river 
towns the truck should work greatly to the ad- 
vantage of the packet. 

The packet boat, by reason of its being a self- 
contained unit, easily controlled and with shal- 
low draft and wide guards, can make a landing 
practically at any place along the river. Its 
field of operations is unlimited. It is particu- 


_larly well adapted for navigating the many small 


tributary streams in this vicinity and the bayous 
of the lower river, thus reaching places entirely 


Celis ley 


Ee Uae Ave N NS lee N eG 


CeO MaeMe La Stes la Onn 


inaccessible to the barge line equipment and to 
the railroad. The future of the packet boat un- 
doubtedly lies in its ability to perform this use- 
ful service. Much of the freight so obtained 
could be diverted to the barge line for further 
handling, but on account of the relatively low 
margin of profit in the packet business it is not 
likely that splitting the rate with the barge line 
would prove advantageous to either. 

So far as is apparent now, packet operations 
may be expected to continue about as at present, 
with neither a great increase or decrease in vol- 
ume of its tonnage. The present tonnage is 
about 50,000 tons per year in and out of Mem- 
phis and is being chiefly carried by two com- 
panies, the Lee Line and Delta Line,* each own- 
ing and operating the following boats: 


properly built or inadequately maintained, it is 
decidedly disadvantageous to the shipper and he 
uses it only when compelled to do so. 

The present packet terminal facilities can be 
improved by constructing diagonal, well-paved 
roadways along the wharf leading to the two 
wharf boat landings. These should be built to 
as slight a grade as possible, and with their lower 
side raised, so that vehicles will maintain an ap- 
proximately vertical position. The roadways 
need not be over twelve feet wide, except as they 
approach the landings, where a width of sixteen 
feet is desirable. In order to take care of the 
varying stages of the river, crossroads between 
the diagonals may be provided. It is also recom- 
mended that the landing stages to the wharf 
boats be made wider and considerably longer, 


Owner Boat 
PGerUMN C65 5 ab esse Sd AT Yee Liem ie eta a 
ES ee ee IE Clipse@memety c= = a2 4 otc urs Os 
BeMNE S aes 6 5 Bybee Oe oA ey eae een 
ea WING. oo ics ss Kate Adams . 


ce ce 


yl Sale Sees Pa Verne Swain .. 


Net Tonnage No. of 


Ae a ee KatewA cas oes 


Capacity Round Trips Destination 
348 2 weekly Rosedale, Miss. 
182 ae Caruthersville, Mo. 
97 ES Caruthersville, Mo. 
DDO 1 Greenville, Miss. 
105 2 Caruthersville, Mo. 
OL) iL: 


os Helena, Ark. 


The Packet Terminal now consists of a slop- 
ing wharf, roughly paved, and two wharf boats. 
One wharf boat is of steel construction, 46 feet 
wide and 220 feet long. The other is of wood, 
50 feet wide and 320 feet long. The latter is 
provided with three driveways and the former 
with two. Trucks and teams drive directly upon 
the wharf boats, thus cutting down their capac- 
ity about one-third and introducing some incon- 
venience in loading and unloading. A much bet- 
ter arrangement would be to have another land- 
ing barge alongside, with its deck about three 
feet lower than the deck of the wharf boat, the 
teams and trucks to use this only, and take on 
and discharge their cargo on an approximate 
level. However, with their present capacity the 
wharf boats could still handle several times the 
business now offered. 

The sloping wharf and wharf boat combina- 
tion, properly maintained and operated, consti- 
tute the cheapest and most efficient form of 
packet terminal. If, however, the wharf is im- 


*These lines were lately consolidated into The 
Valley Line. 


so as to give better access to vehicles. These 
improvements, together with the intervening 
landing barge previously mentioned, should re- 
sult in greatly increased packet patronage and 
amply care for the situation for many years to 
come. 


Future TERMINAL REQUIREMENTS 


Future requirements for River Terminals will 
include those primarily designed for handling 
bulk materials, such as coal, coke, sand, gravel, 
lumber, ete. There is now some demand for 
better methods of receiving, storing and reship- 
ping iron and steel products and pipe. Mem- 
phis is well located to serve as a general ware- 
house district for distribution of these widely 
used materials, and if large quantities of steel 
are on hand there will naturally congregate 
within the immediate vicinity bridge and iron 
works, tank works, and other users of structural 
steel. 

The saving in transportation of steel products 
by river over that by rail from Pittsburgh, Pa., 
amounts to at least $4.00 per ton, including the 
handling at terminals. 


[ 87 ] 


LN ee 


Rees Oehe 


TRUCKS & TEAMS 


TRUCKS © TEAMS 


PAVED STREET 
Doors 


AEINPOMCED CONCRETE BOCK 
BUTTRESSES 254 CWC 
BASE AND GIRDERS WOT SHOMM. 


L__eecgs 
Hi |) 


a 
eae 
aa 
Lew-J 
LI {LAT} LI} ] ja 
NOTE — 
THE SECTION SHOWN S FROM ABOUT THE 


FOOT OF BUTLER ST. — US.SOUNDINGS OF /922 

THE DOCK INDICATED IS PRIMARLY FOR BULK 
MATERIALS INCLUDING PIPE, STRUCTURAL STEEL, 
COAL, SAND, GRAVEL, BRICK, LUMBER, LOGS, HEAVY 
MACHINERY AND AUTOMOBILES 


PLAN 


TYPICAL PLAN FOR THE 


RECOVERY , USE & PROTECTION 
WHARF PROPERTY 


ALONG MISSISSIPPI RIVER, TENNESSEE CHUTE AND WOLF RIVER 


CITY PLANNING COMMISSION = MEMPHIS - TENNESSEE 
: JULY - 1923 HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW 
SCALE IN FEET CITY PLAN ENGINEER. 


Plate No. 39. Comparatively little of the river front of 

Memphis is accessible on account of the height and in- 

stability of the bank. This plan provides a low bench 
and stabilizes the shore line. 


Completion by the United States of the Ohio 
River improvement program will undoubtedly 
bring additional traffic to the Port of Memphis, 
as will also the further improvement of other 
tributaries, such as the Tennessee and Cumber- 
land Rivers. 

Two general locations are proposed for future 
terminals for bulk freight. The first along Wolf 
River, particularly at or near the foot of Auc- 
tion Avenue on city-owned land, and the second 
at some point along the bluff below the foot of 
Huling Avenue. 

The first site suggested has the great advan- 
tage of accessibility both to railroads and vehi- 
cles. Its chief drawbacks are the habitual shal- 
lowness of Wolf River and the narrow width of 
that stream, which impose unusually difficult 
navigating conditions. 

The second location would assure good water 


[ 88 ] 


depth and an easy approach for all vessels. Rail 
connections here, though more difficult to ar- 
range, are not unreasonably so and vehicular 
traffic can also be provided. This site is particu- 
larly favored on account of the possibility of 
being able to utilize a terminal of the dock type 
to serve also as a much-needed shore protective 
device. Such a dock or wharf may consist of a 
concrete cellular type of wall, providing a ver- 
tical face and surmounted by the necessary trav- 
eling cranes and fixed derricks for hoisting bulk 
material. Back of the wall, space for several 
tracks and a warehouse would be obtained by 
filling in. (See Plate No. 39.) 

The Mississippi River is making serious in- 
roads upon the shore line, especially from Huling 
Avenue southward, and it seems apparent that 
elaborate and costly protective works will soon 
be required to hold this land, and, although it 
is a somewhat ambitious scheme, it is worth the 
attempt to combine the functions of a shore- 
protecting pier with that of a river terminal. 
A suggested method for accomplishing this is 
ulustrated by Plate No. 39. 

There is a considerable demand for wheat and 
grain elevators, especially of the type that is 
accessible to both river and railroads, and it is 
recommended that these facilities be also pro- 
vided as a part of future river terminals. 


INDUSTRIAL ExPANSION 


A glance at the two diagrams (Plates No. 40 
and No. 41), which indicate the origin and des- 
tination of Memphis shipments, will show how 


Suggested treatment of river front as proposed in 
Plate No. 39. 


Co le Yi 


Pap lene NaN Gee NGG: 


COMMAS le Srn Sale OnN 


well established Memphis is with regard to raw 
materials, practically all of which are found 
within a radius of a few hundred miles. The 
supply of such materials is, with the exception 
of lumber, inexhaustible. Therefore the primary 
or basic industries of the city are exceptionally 
well founded. 

From the United States census report of 1919 
it appears that cotton seed oil and cotton seed 
oil products constitute 30 per cent in value of 
output of all manufactured articles of Memphis. 
Next in importance is the manufacture of food 
preparations, which amount to about 16% of 
the total value. Lumber, timber and planing 
mill products rank next with the percentage of 
7.5; following these are flour and grist mill 
products, 6.8% ; patent medicine and compounds, 
6.1%; bread and bakery products, 4.9% ; con- 
fectionery and ice cream, 4.6%; and printing 
and publishing, 5.5%. Other important indus- 
tries are the manufacture of foundry and ma- 
chine shop products, 2.4%, and mattresses, 


[_MATERIA\ 


TONNAGE] MATERIALS _ [TONNAGE 


1000 


a vl 
COTTON SEED —*|_:14,2¢ 
LIVE STOCK __|_—NT,S fe 


) 
<a 


ZINC OXIDE 
[CHEMICALS 


MEMPHIS & VICINITY 


G 
[HANDLES 


LUMBER. 
OlL & GASOLINE 
ON 


coTtT dodba 
RICE CHEMICALS, 
AUTO PARTS 


|LUMBER 6 LOGS 12 

|COTTON PROOUCTS | | 

| {COTTON a 

© {MOLASSES - 
LIME. 


jor 


[Nv it 

}IRON & STEEL | _\2 

CEMENT __ = 
(OES. 


= _ 50 BIG BRASS 
CTS] 122,000 | TYPE METAL 
{211,099 


| WIRE 
14 000 | 20 [MALT SY RUP 
> 


) [GRAIN 


MMe af 1,00C 
[IRON & STEEL 


eee 


| 
YS 


U 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 


spring beds, beverages, ice, harness and saddles, 
paints, each of which constitutes about 2% of 
the total in value of output. The remaining in- 
dustries are engaged generally in the production 
of automobile bodies and parts, bags, carriage 
and wagon materials, railroad ears, light machin- 
ery, castings, cooperage, furniture, extracts, to- 
bacco and snuff, and door screens, amounting in 
all to about 7% of the total. 

During the period from 1914 to 1919 the 
greatest increase in value of products took place 
in the lumber and timber industries, amounting 
to almost 500%. It is evident that much more 
of the lumber and logs now passing through 
Memphis to other centers of industry, notably 
Chicago, could be worked up in Memphis into 
furniture, auto bodies, vehicle parts, barrels and 
other finished articles. 

Every effort should be made to encourage the 
location in Memphis of industries using wood 
and veneers. 

The manufacture of carbonated beverages has 


MAP OF THE 


UNITED STATES 


SHOWING 


ORIGIN & APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF 


PRINCIPAL RAW MATERIALS 


USED AT 


MEMPHIS - TENNESSEE 


HARLAND GBARTHOLOMEW” CITY PLAN ENGINEER 


[J INDIANA Ot 
af 16 | 
CN of! VA) 


! 


Plate No. 40. It will be noted how favorably Memphis is situated with relation to its 
sources of supply. 


[ 89 } 


1g) LING AN, i, 


Ia A) 1k) CO) IRL OM 


PRODUCTS _ 


IS Si PRODUCTS 
[FEE 


v eee 


Pp ODUCTS TONS 
NEI c MAP OF THE 


UNITED STATES 


SHOWING 


DESTINATION & APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF 


VARIOUS FINISHED PRODUCTS 


SHIPPED FROM 


MEMPHIS - TENNESSEE 


rf OMING 


TFURNITURE 
MOLASSES 
HANCLES 
MACHINERY _ 
CASTINGS 


500 
ae 
HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW” 
1922 
fac YR ad 


Plate No. 41. A great diversity of manufactures and a wide field of distribution are indicated. 


also shown a remarkable increase, almost 400%, 
during the period from 1914 to 1919. Memphis 
is a logical place for this industry on account of 
the tremendous quantities of sugar brought into 
and through the city, and also of the great ton- 
nage of grain that is imported for various pur- 
poses. 

The manufacture of food preparations and 
cotton seed oil products together is accountable 
for about 46% of the total output value of all 
industries in the city, and of the entire state 
Memphis produces almost 60% of these prod- 
ucts. The city is so well situated with reference 
to raw materials used in the manufacture of 
food preparations and cotton seed products that 
its continued prestige in these two lines of en- 
deavor is assured. 


INpustrRIES ‘Not Now REPRESENTED 


Many industries now located in Memphis or 
vicinity are there by reason of the city’s stra- 
tegic value as a distributing center and its near- 


[90 ] 


ness to the source of raw materials. There are, 
however, several varieties of industries that 
would be equally favored yet are not repre- 
sented, notably cotton mills and shoe factories. 


Cotton mills should be sought for Memphis, 
the special inducements being availability of raw 
material, good transportation facilities, equable 
climatic conditions and the stability of labor. 
There appears to be no good reason why Mem- 
phis should not become the greatest cotton mill 
center in the United States, as it is now the 
most important distributing point for raw 
cotton. 


The commodity diagrams show that many tons 
of hides are transported into and through Mem- 
phis, yet the city has no shoe factory. 


Other industries, either not at all represented 
or insufficiently so, are those for the manufac- 
ture of tin cans, glassware, furniture, cement, 
auto parts, rubber tires, bagging, cigarettes, to- 
bacco, lubricants and refined oil. 


Cee GE ee 


Pe eaeeN, ONG ee Nis Gy 


COMM Me lesa Sale Omen 


VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS 


With the growing scarcity of specialized, high- 
elass labor, the vocational school is assuming a 
tremendous importance. One of the great draw- 
backs to intensive industrial development is the 
lack of dependable, skilled help, and no public 
investment pays greater returns than that of 
having schools capable of filling this need. The 
vocational school established a few years ago is 
growing in use and will increasingly operate to 
fill this need. Through the generosity of one of 
the former leading citizens of Memphis, Mr. 
Wm. R. Moore, a considerable fund has been 
made available for the development of a School 
of Technology. 


THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS 


The vacant areas suitable for industrial de- 
velopment within and adjacent to the city con- 
stitute one of its most important assets and its 
best guarantee against stagnation. It is, there- 
fore, of the utmost consequence to make the most 
of such tracts of land by carefully planning the 
extent to which they may be utilized for factory 
and commercial purposes. 

Considerations such as cost, fire hazard, water 
supply, transportation facilities, direction of pre- 
vailing winds and proximity of residential sec- 
tions usually determine what parts of a city 
shall be devoted to industrial purposes, and the 
kind of an enterprise that will be tolerated 
there. 

In the actual laying out of an industrial dis- 
trict too much care cannot be taken in the man- 
ner in which railroad transportation service is 
provided. The tendency is for each railroad to 
‘endeavor to serve the district independently, 
with a view, of course, to securing as much as 
possible of the traffic for its own lines. 

An essential feature is the establishment of 
small yards or sidings within or very near the 
district to act as reservoirs for the temporary 
storage of loads and empties which have been 
collected for delivery to or received from nearby 
industries. 

Streets should be sufficiently wide to accom- 
modate railroad tracks for switching only, as it 
is generally unavoidable that they be used for 
this purpose sooner or later. By no means, how- 
ever, should such tracks be used for through or 
main line traffic or, in fact, any other business 


that does not directly concern the industries 
within the immediate district. 

Grade crossings may be minimized in number 
and importance by a careful study of the proba- 
ble amount of cross traffic that may arise due to 
residential or other development on either side 
of a given area. The exact locations where sepa- 
ration of grades will be required should be fixed 
as soon as possible in order that buildings and 
other improvements in the vicinity may be 
planned to conform to the permanent lines and 
erades. 

Where a city has already developed along well- 
established lines and there still remains within 
and near its boundaries vacant tracts of land, 
such as is the case in Memphis, it is entirely 
feasible to so control the use of such vacant 
areas that little or no congestion will occur and 
the maximum of benefits will result. This calls 
for the enactment of well-considered legislation 
and the exercise of a high degree of municipal 
patriotism. 

The following general rules for laying out and 
controlling the use of industrial areas are of- 
fered as applicable to Memphis: 


1. Industries of like nature should be con- 
fined to the same district so far as is possible. 

2. Industrial districts should be made up of 
as large blocks or parcels of land as it is prac- 
ticable to keep intact. 

3. Industrial districts should be protected 
from the encroachment of residential develop- 
ment and the consequential restrictions pertain- 
ing thereto. 

4. Streets through industrial areas should be 
wide and well paved and, so far as possible, free 
from through traffie or traffic not directly con- 
cerned with that area. 

5. Sewer and water lines serving an indus- 
trial district should be of ample size in order to 
meet the special requirements imposed. 

6. A certain proportion of the area adjacent 
to an industrial district, within walking dis- 
tance, should be reserved for the homes of the 
mass of the employes. 

7. Adequate street car service should be pro- 
vided. 

8. Free access to the River Terminal and the 
river front generally by team and truck is es- 
sential. 

9. Sufficient right-of-way for railroads serv- 


[91] 


Pele Nee 


tai; Jey 12 (Oy abe Ak 


ing the district should be reserved so that their 
future growth will be unrestricted. 

10. Each industry should have track and 
platform space to care for at least a day’s run, 
with some additional room for future require- 
ments. 

11. The district should be accessible to all 
railroads on equal terms. 

12. As requirements demand, common freight 
houses, receiving and loading platforms and 
team tracks should be provided by the railroads. 

13. It is particularly desirable in Memphis to 
establish one or more industrial terminals, or 
‘‘industry ineubators,’’ which consist of large, 
fireproof, multiple-story buildings, capable of 
housing a number of firms, all sharing in com- 
mon the facilities provided. 


The foregoing remarks and general rules 
might well be applied to that area immediately 
south of Railroad Avenue, which is well suited 


[92 ] 


to warehouse development, light manufacturing 
establishments and self-contained industrial ter- 
minals. That district extending along Wolf 
River from Jefferson Avenue to the north city 
limits and beyond is also most advantageously 
situated for both light and heavy industries re- 
quiring considerable individual space and access 
to the river. This section of the city and that 
lying north of the north city limits and paral- 
leling the Union Railway, offer opportunities for 
large industries seldom equaled in any city. 

An industrial district planned and laid out in 
a logical, systematic manner, with assurance that 
conditions therein will remain stable to a rea- 
sonable degree, will unquestionably prove attrae- 
tive to capital seeking investment. Memphis is 
peculiarly fortunate in having these potential 
areas available, and this fact, in combination 
with the accessibility of raw materials, is suffi- 
cient to insure her continued growth and pros- 


perity. 


Cm Tae yes 7 


Ee AG NG EN eel NG: 


EO) IM WM, IS) Sw Oy 


RECREATION FACILITIES IN MEMPHIS 


HE history of the development of the 
Memphis park system is of special inter- 
est and significance. It is illustrative of 
what Memphis can do in good city build- 

ing through the exercise of initiative and fore- 
sight. The first park board was organized but 
twenty-two years ago. Previous to 1900 the city 
had shown only a casual interest in parks. 
Practically no funds were appropriated for such 
purposes. The several squares, Auction, Court, 
Market and Exchange, and Forrest and Bickford 
Parks, for many years constituted the total park 
area. In 1900, when the city had a population 
of over one hundred thousand people, it had 
scarcely twenty acres of park property. All 
these parks were gifts; the city had purchased 
none. 


There were a few citizens, however, who fore- | 


saw the ultimate effects of this inadequacy. The 
praiseworthy Memphis park and parkway sys- 
tem is a memorial to men like Robert Galloway, 
L. B. MeFarland and John R. Godwin. They 
constituted the first park board. They were the 
leaders in the long fight to secure for their city 
the benefits and advantages of adequate public 
tleasure grounds. Judge McFarland voiced the 
ereed of this group when he onee said: 

‘‘No city will be greatly populous or truly 
great without proper provision for the pleasur- 
able and the esthetic. Pleasure grounds and 
places of amusement are as much of a necessity 
to the health and happiness of a people as pave- 
ments and sewers.’’ 

Under the leadership of this first park board, 
and with the guidance of Mr. Geo. Kessler, land- 
scape architect, Memphis purchased almost im- 
mediately Overton Park, 335 acres, and secured 
by purchase and gift Riverside Park, 427 acres, 
and later a parkway 11.11 miles long, containing 
183.23 aeres of land. To acquire these three 
properties, today the most important features of 
the park system, the city had to issue $250,000 
in bonds. Their true value now is beyond com- 
putation; the land alone is conservatively esti- 
mated to be worth nearly four million dollars. 


The full story of what the initiative of these 
men has done to stimulate the growth of Mem- 
phis can never be told. It is important to note, 
however, that today, twenty-three years after 
Memphis began to make park history, the city 
possesses two superb large parks, as well im- 
proved and as beautiful as any in the country. 
Within these parks and in the parkway connect- 
ing them are over twenty-four miles of inviting 
hard-surfaced drives. Supplementing these fa- 
cilities are also numerous other smaller parks 
and playgrounds, all constituting an extraordi- 
nary recreation system. The fondest hopes of 
the early park enthusiasts have been surpassed. 
The parks are not only beautiful but have a 
usefulness today far beyond the satisfaction 
they afford the eye. 

The early interest in these parks was funda- 
mentally esthetic. They were desired chiefly 
because of the effect they would have upon the 
appearance of the city. The delights and pleas- 
ures of visiting them and of driving leisurely 
over the roadways were considered justification 
for their purchase and development. For a 
number of years the Memphis parks were main- 
tained in this spirit. The full contribution which 
they could make toward satisfying all the varied 
recreational needs of the city were only faintly 
perceived. The essential purpose of parks and 
similar facilities has only recently been recog- 
nized. 

Today it is apparent that there is a vast store 
of recreational interests in the city which the 
parks have heretofore only slightly touched. The 
park department is no longer merely an agency 
for the production of beauty spots. To develop 
parks and maintain them principally to beautify 
the city is now seen to be an extravagant use of 
publie funds. It has been demonstrated in Mem- 
phis that parks properly designed can render a 
wide and varied service, no small part of which 
is accomplished through their appeal to the eye. 
The Memphis park department has lately been 
reorganized to build parks for the fullest use 
and to teach people how to enjoy them. 


[93 ] 


Tie LN gers 1, 


Neve LO) Dea Jab ae 


Memphis, under this new plan of operation, 
is having unusual success in developing the 
serviceability of its park system. Recreational 
values are being discovered in the parks that, 
without impairing their high esthetic standards, 
double their worth to the city. During the past 
season 24 soccer teams, 121 basketball teams, 23 
indoor and 175 outdoor baseball teams came 
forth to use the recreation facilities of Mem- 
phis. Over fourteen thousand persons used the 
tennis courts in the month of July. Playground 
attendance approached a quarter of a million. 
The golf courses were always popular. The 
number of visitors to the parks exceeded all 
previous records. Never before has the city re- 
vealed such a lively interest in recreation. 


NEED OF RECREATION 


There are reasons for this interest. Parks are 
now numbered among the primary necessities in 
progressive cities. 

The conditions which make recreation and 
recreation grounds vital needs in the city are 
the direct result of growth. Growth means the 
utilization of space, more intensive development, 
concentration of interests, congestion. Vacant 
areas are one by one absorbed until eventually 
blocks become solidly built up. In these closely 
packed areas normal play instincts and desires 
are thwarted or repressed unless the city has 
reserved here and there suitable open spaces to 
be used for recreation. 

Parks alone will not serve all interests. A 
complete system of recreation facilities is needed. 
The recreational interests of all ages and classes 
must be anticipated. 


1. Community centers will be ineluded in the 
recreation system because they answer the de- 
sire for a common, unrestricted meeting place, 
a neighborhood home devoted to the establish- 
ment and maintenance of wholesome social con- 
tacts. 


2. Playgrounds will be included because they 
serve especially the natural play activities of 
children. 


3. Playfields, swimming pools and similar re- 


lated features will be developed because they 
have power to draw the youth of the city into 
healthful outdoor sports. 


4. Small parks have a part in the system, not 
because they satisfy active recreational needs, 


[ 94 ] 


but for the contribution they make to civie pride 


and the amenities of city life. 


5. Neighborhood parks are included because 


they satisfy the recreational needs of those who 
must find their facilities close at hand. 


6. Large outlying parks are included because 
it is possible therein to preserve sights and 
sounds indispensable in counteracting the op- 
pression of the modern city. 


7. Specially designed drives should tie the 
system together and afford the citizen distine- 
tive and inviting routes for pleasure drives. 


One is not to be considered more important 
than another. Each type of recreation facility 
noted above has a certain service to render in 
the city. 

The degree of usefulness which characterizes 
these various facilities, community centers, play- 
grounds, neighborhood parks and the like de- 
pends, first, upon location; second, upon the 
manner of development; and, third, upon direc- 
tion, with no clear lines separating these factors. 
It is obviously essential, if playgrounds are to 
deliver their maximum service to the commu- 
nity, that they be placed where the largest num- 
ber of children can reach them. First-class ap- 
paratus or the skill of experienced playground 
instructors cannot overcome the handicap of in- 
accessibility or inconvenience. All other features 
of the recreation system are likewise amenable 
to this principle. 

Because of the importance of location, there- 
fore, recreation facilities must have a place in - 


Wading pool. in Overton Park. 


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the city plan. There is no longer any question 
as to the potential usefulness of parks, play- 


grounds and similar recreation advantages. They 
have demonstrated their value in the modern. 


city. There is an insistent demand that their 
number be increased. The city will answer this 
demand as well as its financial resources will 
permit. The extravagance of haphazard loca- 
tion must be avoided. The needs of the city 
must be accurately estimated and embodied in 
a studied development plan. 


A SYSTEM OF RECREATION FACILITIES FOR 
MrEmpPHIs 


The problem of providing Memphis with ade- 
quate recreation facilities has two phases. Un- 
satisfactory conditions of the existing city must 
be corrected, and future needs must be antici- 
pated in new growth. 

In brief, the deficiencies of the present city 
may be corrected by the following means: 


1. Establishing clear responsibility for the 
provision of recreation facilities of the various 
types and for directing their use. 

2. Making wider use of school buildings as 
community centers. 

5. Developing playgrounds in 
with publie schools. 

4. Creating additional neighborhood parks in 
all sections where need of such facilities will 
justify the cost. 

5. Amplifying the existing parkway system 
by bringing it into closer relationship with the 
heart of the city. 

6. Developing park properties already owned 
for wider and more effective service. 


connection 


In order to carry out this or any other simi- 
lar program it is essential that the recreational 
needs of the city be thoroughly understood and 
that the responsibility of satisfying these needs 
be assumed by the proper agencies. 

The most pressing recreation problem in Mem- 
phis is found in the district surrounding the 
business center. The praiseworthy acquisitions 
of the first park board did much to elevate the 
standing of Memphis in the possession of public 
pleasure grounds, but the pronounced recrea- 
tional needs of the heart of the city still remain 
essentially unserved. 

Within a circle on one mile radius drawn 
about Court Square live 33,000 people, 20.51 per 
cent of the total population, living upon 9.02 


[ 96 ] 


per cent of the city’s area. (Plate No. 42.) 
This is the equivalent of 13,134 persons per 
square mile, a trifle over 20 persons per gross 
acre.* Considering the large street area of the 
section and the proportion of space devoted to 
uses other than residential, this is indicative of 
congestion. 

Within the circle in question are found but 
two areas devoted to supervised community. reec- 
reation, Brinkley playground and the colored 
community center, called Churech’s Park. The 
former is an adaptation of Market Square, one 
of the city’s oldest small parks. It is only one 
acre in extent, but is accessible (within one- 
quarter of a mile walking distance) to a larger 
number of white children than any other estab- 
lished playground. The negro recreation center 
is the only one of the sort in Memphis. It is 
accessible to large numbers of negroes and rep- 
resents a very commendable step toward offering 
this race the proper sort of leisure time activities. 

There are no neighborhood parks of adequate 
size available for either whites or negroes. The 
public schools serving this area, Christine, Leath 
and Fowlkes (white) and Grant and Kortrecht 
(colored) all have extremely inadequate recrea- 
tion space. It is important to note further that 
203 eases of juvenile delinquency were found 
within one mile of Court Square during the year 
ending June 1, 1922. (Plate No. 43.) A dis- 
trict containing but 9 per cent of the city’s area 
and 20 per cent of the population furnished 33 
per cent of the city’s delinquency. 

The conditions which prevail in the first mile- 
about Court Square are practically duplicated 
in the second mile. In this annular ring one 
mile wide, embracing 23.74 per cent of the total 
city’s area, live 61,400 people. This is 37.81 per 
cent of the total population, or an equivalent of 
16,806 persons per square mile. Considering 
railroad yards, vacant area (see Plate No. 6), 
streets and space devoted to uses other than 
residential there is congestion here as notable as 
that found in the first mile circle. 

In this second mile there are no community 
centers for either white or colored. There is 
one splendid neighborhood park, Forrest Park, 
10 acres, containing comfort station, playground 
and floral displays; and two other parks, Gaston 
Park, containing 5 acres, and Bickford Park, 


*The population statistics presented have been 
taken from the transit report of Mr. Ross W. Harris. 


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21% acres, all for whites. The latter two parks 
are of ample size for playgrounds and are largely 
so used. They cannot be considered in the neigh- 
borhood park class. In addition to the play- 
erounds at the three parks named, there is avail- 
able the playfield known as Hodges Field, leased 
by the Memphis Amateur Athletic Association 
and not a public possession, and the new Beau- 
regard Field nearby, containing at present a 
baseball diamond and tennis courts. There are 
eight white and five colored schools in this area. 
Of these none has recreation space commensu- 
rate with its enrollment. The grounds of the 
colored schools are particularly cramped and un- 
satisfactory. 

In the whole central area comprised within a 
circle two miles in radius about Court Square 
lives nearly 60 per cent of the population of the 
city. Here the recreation division of the park 
department finds conditions which eall forth its 
best efforts. Two-thirds of the child delinquency 
and, it is safe to say, well over half the crime, 
immorality and viciousness of the city originate 
within two miles of Court Square. The yearly 
cost of combatting these conditions is enormous. 
But courts and police methods, costly as they 
are, are not preventive. Recreation is. 

The proper value has not yet been placed 
upon the splendid work which the park com- 
mission has recently undertaken in stimulating 
interest in recreation. The results will fall be- 
low expectations if proper facilities are not pro- 
vided in the heart of the city. At least two 
white and one colored recreation center are 
needed to serve these congested districts. Over- 
ton and Riverside Parks will not answer. 
Neither will the public schools. A wholly new 
type of recreation unit must be added to the 
Memphis system. 

Conditions suggest the development of com- 
plete recreation centers, in which a community 
center building would be the dominant feature. 
These centers would also partake of the nature 
of neighborhood parks and playgrounds. In 
their design as many recreation interests as pos- 
sible should be provided for. Suggested sites 
for these units are shown on Plate No. 42. 

There is a serious need for a close-in reerea- 
tion center for whites « tes convenient a the business 
district. The busin 
eastward, will Siva be iharaien with recrea- 
tional desires. To the east is a large area now 


[ 98 | 


thickly settled and by the provisions of the zone 
ordinance proposed as an apartment district. 
The residents of this section will need a recrea- 
tion center nearby. 

Opportunity exists for the establishment of 
colored recreation centers to- ere 
is a dense negro population living in “tite low 
areas along the DeSoto Bayou. The section be- 
tween Mississippi Boulevard and the Southern 
Railway, south of Vance Avenue, is particularly 
in need of a recreation center. An area is avail- 
able in the interior of the block between Orleans 
Street and Lauderdale Street south of St. Paul 
Avenue. This property, being low, is not costly, 
but so far as service possibilities are concerned 
could not be better situated. 

Another white recreation center is also sug- 
gested for Winchester-Cemetery. A plan show- 
‘ing the possibilities of this area and the general 
form of the recreation center proposed for the 
other two sites appears in Plate No. 44. 

There is serious need for still another recrea- 
tion center in the neighborhood of the Christine 
School, but suitable property is apparently not 


| [aoa | 


32 SUGGESTED: || 
io Ae. - PLAN ~ for. |] 
ne ‘RECREATION: | 
ie) WINCHESTER: 

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er Ie -~\~ TENNESSEE: 


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Plate No. 44. This area renders no service to the city in 
its present condition. 


Col ailery, 


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CO) IME AYE ANS) Sy 1 @) oN 


now available. If this school, as determined by 
a school survey, is to be rebuilt, property for a 
eombined school and playground should then be 
acquired. A new school building upon the site 
should be planned for community center service. 

By developing the negro center near_the Por- 
ter Schoot-and making Winchester Cemetery a 
genuine reereation- center, the park board-wil 
go a long way toward d_satisfying the immediate 
recr Perera needs of the heart of the eity. Hach 
of these units should serve as community center, 
playground, playfield and neighborhood park. 
Beneficial results can be promised Memphis 
through expenditures upon all-round facilities 
such as these. Their cost will be more than jus- 
tified. They should be placed and built for wide 
service. 


COMMUNITY CENTERS 


Neighborhood recreation buildings similar to 
those which have been proposed for each of the 
three sites mentioned above should be found in 
other sections of Memphis. These buildings, 
ealled community centers, serve both adults and 
children. They are year-’round recreation cen- 
ters. Community centers operated by the mu- 
nicipality usually contain meeting rooms for 
clubs and societies, gymnasium, auditorium, 
branch library, game rooms and other recrea- 
tion features attractive to both young and old. 
. Generally speaking, such institutions need have 
no special relationship to parks or playgrounds; 
they were suggested for the recreation centers 
in the central section of the city in order to sat- 
isfy the needs of that district and make the 
facilities provided there as complete as possible. 

Strictly speaking, there are at present no true 
community centers in Memphis. It is only when 
a city has reached a considerable size that it 
finds ability to support such specialized institu- 
tions. This is perhaps chiefly responsible for the 
fact that there are so few community center 
activities. It has been the experience of large 
cities that the social spirit of the neighborhood 
is latent and needs only the facilities through 
which it may express itself to become active. 


Progress in the development of community 
social activities, however, is usually slow. Pub- 
lie provision of facilities for the accommodation 
of neighborhood activities cannot at once take 
the form of complete and fully developed com- 
munity center buildings. Such structures, while 


quite ideal, are generally not built until the 
social interests of a neighborhood are fully 
aroused and demand such a specialized struc- 
ture. The public school, consequently, is com- 
monly the most available center for the early 
development of community interests. 


In cities where a distinction is made between 
schools, the junior high school buildings have 
been found extremely adaptable to community 
center uses. Their interior plan is generally 
such that the central wing of the building can 
be opened independently of the rest. Near the 
main entrance and on well-lighted corridors 
should be found gymnasium, swimming pool, 
auditorium with stage built for amateur dra- 
matics, woodworking and domestic science 
rooms, branch library and similar features. In 
buildings of this sort may center a great many 
interests of the people which it is advantageous 
for the city to cultivate. The Board of Educa- 
tion can satisfy a vital recreational need if its 
new school buildings are designed for wider use. 

In Memphis several of the older school build- 
ings have already been brought into the recrea- 
tion system. They are opened in evenings for 
local clubs and societies, and those which have 
auditoriums are often in demand. The Board 
of Education has shown a commendable spirit in 
thus helping to satisfy the new recreational de- 
sires of the- city. 


PLAYGROUNDS 


A playground, first, should be convenient to 
children. They should not have to walk much 
more than a quarter of a mile to reach a play- 
ground. Secondly, the playground ought to be 
of adequate size. The rule is to provide not less 
than 100 square feet of unobstructed play space 
per child, with the minimum area not less than 
two acres. Third, to secure for the community 
the greatest usefulness of playgrounds, they 
should be placed under responsible management. 
Provision of space is a prime essential, but su- 
pervision and direction are equally vital to the 
success of any system of playgrounds. No en- 
thusiasm for the conversion of small parks and 
easual vacant spaces into so-called playgrounds 
should obscure the fact that real playgrounds 
should be placed where they can render service, 
should be adequate in size, and should be prop- 
erly managed. 

The recreation division of the park commis- 


[99] 


FolaN AA 


Rela POR aa 


sion is making a determined effort to look after 
children of playground age during the summer 
months. In assuming the responsibility, how- 
ever, it invades a field which authorities agree 
belongs to the educational department. The 
park department is developing space and train- 
ing a personnel to conduct playground activities 
for a small proportion of the school children for 
a very brief period. Inasmuch as first-class 
playground work is essentially a form of out- 
door education, this arrangement is manifestly 
uneconomical. Accordingly it is recommended 
that henceforth the following principle be fol- 
lowed: 


(1) The Board of Edueation should plan to 
acquire enough space for each new school build- 
ing, and near as many old ones as are to be 
preserved, to give the children within half a mile 
an all-year playground of suitable size. 

The purchase of ground should be based upon 
a computation of the maximum anticipated en- 
rollment of the district. The play area around 
no school building should be less than two full 
acres. Many progressive cities are purchasing 
five, fifteen and twenty-acre tracts as school 
sites. Their foresight in this respect will be 
more fully appreciated as the population mounts 
and the residential blocks in the school district 
become solidly built up. By assuming this obli- 
gation of providing ample play space about the 
public schools, the Board of Education makes a 
distinet contribution to the building of a more 
serviceable and efficient city. Within reach of 
the children of every section of the city there 
will be at least one well-known space upon which 
they may freely release natural play impulses. 
They can jump and run and play games under 
proper guidance without fear of street traffic or 
the abuse of unsympathetic neighbors. 


(2) The responsibility of directing play- 
ground activities properly belongs to the Board 
of Education, and eventually should be assumed 
by this body. The following advantages will 
acerue to the city: 

(a) School grounds will be more widely 
used, thus better justifying their cost. 

(b) Playgrounds at school will always be so 
spaced as to be readily accessible, provided 
schools are located in accordance with a definite 
program based upon the city plan. 

(ec) Duplication of playgrounds need not 
occur, as will frequently happen when there is 


[ 100 | 


no clear understanding as to which municipal 
agency has playground responsibility. 

(d) The organization of a playground per- 
sonnel will be easier under the school authorities. 


(e) Playground interests may readily be 
correlated with social center activities, the publie 
schools being well adapted to the latter. 

(f) The playground and school will then be- 
come an all-day, all-year recreational and edu- 
cational center for children. 

(g) The benefits and advantages of first- 
class playground activities will be extended to 
all children rather than to a few who voluntarily 
come forth. 


(3) The park department and all other agen- 
cies interested in recreation in Memphis should 
assist the school board, wherever possible, in the 
development of playgrounds for children. 

Help may be extended through provision of 
space, the erection of apparatus, the organiza- 
tion of play festivals in the larger parks, and 
similar means. It is not expected that the Board 
of Education, with its heavy burdens, will be 
able at once to take over this new interest. The 
park department for some time, perhaps, will 
have to continue its playground service and seek 
to reach larger numbers of children. It should 
be a policy of the park department, however, in 
all new land purchases for playgrounds, to ac- 
quire tracts adjacent to school property. By 
following this plan, the children of Memphis will 
be afforded adequate play space where such is 
most seriously needed. 


The park department in its playground work 
thus far has but slightly touched the needs of 
the city in its eight centers. While the summer 
attendance totaled 202,474, the average daily at- 
tendance was only 2,442 for white playgrounds 
and 336 for colored. But 15 per cent of the 
white children of playground age (six to fifteen 
years) and 3 per cent of the colored were thus 
eared for on such playgrounds during the sum- 
mer of 1922. 

Two factors affected this showing. The park 
department was forced to find playground sites 
chiefly on properties already owned. Bickford 
Park, Gaston Park, Market Square and other 
small park areas were turned into playgrounds. 


_ These were not always closely related to the 


school population. In the second place, practi- 
cally all available playground locations were 


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utilized; the lack of more sites handicapped the 
service. With the exception of the Brinkley 
playground (Market Square), which had the 
best opportunities for service because of the 
proximity of a dense school population, all 
grounds were adequate in size. They were all 
well managed. 

It is manifest now, however, that if the park 
department is to carry on this important phase 
of its work, it must inerease its facilities. It is 
pertinent to ask where new playground sites will 
be found. Playground activities in the modern 
city are too important to be spotted here and 
there over the city in response to merely local 
demands. The playground program should be 
city-wide. Units should be located first in the 
congested centers and later in more outlying 
sections. 

The distribution of school population is the 
guide by which playground service should be 
distributed. The Memphis playgrounds so far 
have been located chiefly with reference to the 
availability of small park areas. The new sites 
which will have to be secured should bear a dis- 
tinet relation to the public schools. 

Plates No. 45 and No. 46 are included to show 
the districts in which playgrounds are now most 
seriously needed. Three of these districts, two 
white and one colored, can be served by the de- 
velopment of the complete recreation centers 
such as has previously been suggested. These 
units should all include playgrounds for chil- 
dren. The grounds of the Merrill and Porter 
Schools, which serve the latter two districts, are 
wholly inadequate for playground work. The 
tabulations on the plates referred to show how 
far these schools come from the standard of 100 
square feet per child. 

Three public school playgrounds are suggested 
for immediate development in this central sec- 
tion of the city. The A. B. Hill School is located 
in an extremely populous district. It is a large 
school with a yard which formerly showed only 
47 square feet per child, but the yard facilities 
were recently increased by the purchase of ade- 
quate ground. *Across the street from the Hill 


*This ratio is obtained by subtracting the area 
covered by buildings from the total area of plot and 
dividing this remainder by the enrollment figures, a 
method manifestly favorable to the school because 
it includes front yard, which should be a landscape 
setting for the building, and side yards, which are 
useless for active games and sports. 


{ 102 J 


School is a large open area which should be 
made available as a playground for the children 
of this district. 

Playgrounds should also be established at the 
following schools, enough additional property 
being acquired to provide the children adequate 
space, viz.: Peabody, Cummings, Rozelle, Guth- 
rie, Madison Heights and Gordon. 

Two of the negro schools—old LaRose, one of 
the most congested schools in the city, and 
Carnes Avenue—are seriously in need of addi- 
tional playground facilities. The grounds at 
these schools are pitifully inadequate. Condi- 
tions at the Carnes Avenue School are particu- 
larly deplorable and the surroundings are most 
undesirable. A new LaRose Street School has 
recently been constructed near the old one, 
which has relieved somewhat the school condi- 
tions in that negro neighborhood. 

Both LaRose Street Schools can be equipped 
with suitable playgrounds only by the purchase 
of nearby improved property. The likelihood 
that this district will always remain a negro 
community warrants acquisition of ample 
ground for play space for each of these schools. 

The playground locations proposed above are 
chiefly those which the population and the con- 
ditions of the various districts suggest. Needs 
elsewhere may seem equally urgent. If play- 
ground management is in charge of public school 
authorities these needs may be answered in the 
school system. The enlargement of school 
grounds all over the city should be carried for- 
ward progressively in anticipation of the estab- 
lishment of a city-wide playground system. The 
policy of the Board of Education should be to 
purchase all new school sites with playground 
needs fully appreciated. 


PLAYFIELDS 


Playfields are essentially a form of play- 
ground, but because of specialization they 
should be considered separately. Where play- 
grounds chiefly attract and serve children, play- 
fields serve young men. Above the age of fifteen 
years the interests of boys particularly are cen- 
tered in more active, competitive games and 
sports. They wish detachment from the ‘‘kids’’ 
who frequent playgrounds. They seek advance- 
ment from the playground ball leagues to the 
leagues playing league baseball. They greatly 
need playfields with running track, football and 
baseball areas and similar spaces. These recrea- 


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tion areas are not easily co-ordinated with play- 
grounds. Their uses are different, but they 
have a distinet place in the recreation system. 

The park department has recently organized 
a recreation service for the purpose of drawing 
people into the outdoors. For all the various 
teams and the individuals who come forth ta 
play, the city offers the following facilities: 

Fourteen baseball diamonds, eleven tennis 
courts, one football field, one swimming pool, 
six croquet lawns, five wading pools, two nine- 
hole golf courses. 

Few of these facilities are convenient to the 
population of the central portion of the city. 
Yet it is here that teams are built up, leagues 
formed and a general interest in sports prevails. 
The money which the city is now spending in 
the interest of better leisure time activities 
among its citizens will be wasted if more base- 
ball fields, running tracks, football fields, tennis 
courts and similar facilities are not provided. 
Playfields will afford space for all games. In 
addition, playfields should be established adja- 
cent to all high schools. These latter should also 
be available for public use. 


Since the service area of a playfield is half a 
mile or more, a definite rule can be established 
that the recreation agencies of the city should 
plan one such unit for each square mile of city 
area. The function of these grounds will be to 
offer facilities for healthful exercise to the youth 
of the city. If playfields are properly located 
and are well kept they become very valuable 
adjuncts of the recreation system. 

The development of the Fair Grounds is an 
illustration of an effective recreation center. 
Here are to be found indoor and outdoor tennis 
courts, ball fields, swimming pool and buildings 
for various activities—athletic, social and cul- 
tural. This is precisely the type of service 
needed in the central part of the city. Memphis 
is especially fortunate in having available an 
area such as the Fair Grounds, and the park 
commission is to be commended for the manner 
in which it has taken advantage of the oppor- 
tunity here afforded for year-’round recrea- 
tional activities. 

On Plate No. 1 is shown the development of a 
large park on the island created by the Missis- 
sippi River in recent years in front of the city. 


The island in front of Memphis. 


{ 104 ] 


Compare this with frontispiece. 


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Plate No. 47. Nearly twenty-five years have passed since the present Parkway was established. The city should commence the development of a new chain of such drives 


Cats Usa Y: 


Ee ee ae NN ae LeN ae Cr 


CeO EMe Les Sa le OroN 


This is believed to be the most splendid oppor- 
tunity that has ever been furnished Memphis 
to acquire a park of large acreage virtually 
at the city’s front door. It is true that in its 
present condition it is unusable, inaccessible and 
of doubtful stability because of the shifting eur- 
rents of the Mississippi River. Here its a poten- 
tial recreation area, however, to create the like 
of which other cities are spending several mil- 
lion dollars each. The possibilities of the devel- 
opment of this island can best be visualized by 
comparing this area with the famous Belle Isle, 
Detroit’s most cherished park possession, or with 
the waterfront park areas already developed and 
now being extended in Chicago, representing 
total expenditures of more than a hundred mil- 
lion dollars. While no estimate of cost has been 
made of the character and amount of work neces- 
sary to preserve the island and to furnish such 
additional fill as may be necessary to make it 
useful, it is confidently stated that whatever the 
cost its result would probably be more than jus- 
tified. 

Plate No. 1 gives a suggestion of the manner 
in which this island might be developed as a 
park property. It is not intended that conver- 
sion of the island into a park property should 
be a hasty procedure, but the necessary protec- 
tive work should be initiated. Ten or even 
twenty years might be given to the gradual fill- 
ing of all or part of the island. Much of this 
fill could be secured from the dredgings neces- 
sary in Wolf River. An ornamental and pro- 
tective wall could then be constructed and a 
bridge built at Court Avenue, as shown on Plate 
No. 1. Later other bridges should be built to tie 
the island to the mainland, one at Auction Ave- 
nue, connecting directly with the North Park- 
way, and eventually one north of the city limits 
to connect with the outer Parkway. The island 
should then be developed as a large park, with 
drives and wooded areas and with some formal 
treatment at its southern extremity. Opportunity 
should also be afforded for recreational areas for 
the use of the people living in the central por- 
tion of the city. 


NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS 


In the development of a system of recreation 
facilities, a distinction, based upon service ren- 
dered, must be made between parks. Of pri- 
mary importance are neighborhood parks. These 
pleasure grounds, while not differing greatly in 


size from the small parks of limited value, stand 
at the opposite pole in potential usefulness. In 
the modern city they are indispensable. Their 
incorporation in the urban structure has become 
as essential as the provision of sewers, water sup- 
ply and pavements. 


Neighborhood parks are precisely what the 
name indicates. They are intimate community 
recreation areas. Their great value depends 
chiefly upon their accessibility. A neighborhood 
park should be within walking distance of prac- 
tically every person in the city—one-half mile 
is generally considered a fair radius of the 
service area. The far-sighted city will aim to 
reserve space for one such park for each square 
mile of new territory that is absorbed. 


The intensive usefulness of neighborhood 
parks makes their design a serious problem. 
They cannot be mere uncouth open spaces in 
the midst of thickly built-up neighborhoods. 
Their design must reflect in a measure the na- 
ture of their surroundings. A close-knit layout 
is needed. No waste portions should appear. 
Every section of the area must perform some 
service, must offer some attraction to the diverse 
classes who will live around the park. Automo- 
bile driveways are wholly out of place, except 
perhaps for approach to a parking space near 
a concert court or some such feature. Walks 
should invite promenading and also provide 
short-cuts through the area. There should be a 
formal display of flowers for those who enjoy 
colors, water in a fountain and pools, a shelter, 
benches under trees, suitable shrub plantings, 
trees and lawns, play areas for children, perhaps 
tennis courts, and, if possible, a band pavilion 
and well-proportioned concert court. The whole 
layout of the park should be trim and neat and 
well adapted to interior city conditions. 


Plate No. 42 shows the distribution of popu- 
lation in Memphis. It also shows those few 
parks which may be classified as neighborhood 
parks. The proportion of population served by 
facilities of this sort is very small. Memphis 
has overlooked the need of these local pleasure 
grounds. 


The city should have more parks like Forrest 
and DeSoto Parks. Douglass Park, when it is 
fully improved, will be a splendid neighborhood 
recreation area. One has been proposed near 
the business district, another on the site of Win- 


[ 105 ] 


ele NGA ie Ih Jo Ne) KOY Jae IE 


Mississippi River from Riverside Park. 


[ 106 ] 


Cin DE Als NG Paes NS Nem ie Ne Gy 


CW WL AYE Ut SS if ry ay 


chester Cemetery, and a third for negroes near 
Railroad Avenue. 

The areas previously mentioned will quite 
adequately care for the park needs of the cen- 
tral portion of the city. 

In the more outlying districts where neigh- 
borhood recreational needs are not yet so pro- 
nounced, additional acquisitions should be 
planned. A neighborhood park ean be secured 
in the large vacant tract south of North Park- 
way near the end of Galloway Avenue. Another 
is available on the South Parkway at the end 
of Wellington Street. The Leath Orphans’ Home 
may some day be available for park purposes. 
It should not be allowed to pass into other 
hands without being considered by the Park 
Board. The section of North Memphis which a 
park at this point would serve is in need of just 
such a recreation area as could be developed on 
these grounds. 

Beyond the city limits the purchase of neigh- 
borhood park areas should be systematic. As 
stated above, at least one twenty-acre park 
should be aequired for each square mile of resi- 
dential territory added to the city. At the rate 
at which Memphis is now growing, 6,000 people 
or more are added to the population each year, 
which implies full use of a square mile of net 
residential area every four years. The Park Board 
should plan to acquire at least one cheap out- 
lying neighborhood park tract in the line of dom- 
inant growth, therefore, every four years. These 
areas should be spaced approximately a mile 
apart, and with particular reference to residen- 


Landscape in Overton Park. 


tial development. The attractions of topography 
should not weigh against location, as neighbor- 
hood parks can be created on practically any 
terrain. They should be placed for maximum 
service. 


LARGE PARKS 


The modern city should be encircled by a 
series of large outlying natural parks. These 
areas, linked by a chain of pleasure drives, 
should offer wholesome retreat from the noisy, 
oppressive city. Their general treatment should 
be highly naturalistic. They should embrace 
and preserve for the city dweller all types of 
native topography. Woods and hills and lakes 
and the valleys of streams suggest themselves as 
public reservations. They afford the contacts 
with wild nature so necessary in this age of con- 
finement and artificiality. The city should set 
aside choice bits of such country for later use. 

Memphis has two excellent large parks. Their 
usefulness is increasing yearly. They have be- 
come the city’s most highly prized assets. 

Overton and Riverside Parks were acquired 
twenty years ago. Since that time the resources 
of the city have been spent chiefly in improving 
these parks and in making them more service- 
able. Until the last few years there has been no 
noticeable demand for the development of more 
parks of this sort. 

It is realized now, however, that Memphis can 
not always be satisfied with Overton and River- 
side Parks as its only large parks. Sites for 
similar parks outside the city should be under 


Glimpse of public golf course, Overton Park. 


[ 107 } 


Suggested park tract immediately south of the city. 


review. Donations of lands for such parks 
should be sought and favorable prices should be 
called forth by consideration of numerous sites. 
A broad plan for surrounding the city with a 
system of large parks should be constantly be- 
fore the Park Board. The aim should be to 
aequire the raw property while it is available. 
Improvement can come later. 

Plate No. 47 is included to show the possibili- 
ties and form of a system of large parks for 
Memphis. This scheme is based upon the topog- 
raphy of the city and its environs. It takes ac- 
count of probable tendencies of growth. It is 
drawn with a view toward equipping the city 
with an adequate number of recreation grounds 
of this sort, distributed and arranged so as to 
render the largest possible service for the least 
cost. By skillful property acquisition the whole 
system shown on this plate could be acquired 
without seriously involving the resources of 
the city. 

The proposed large parks are eleven in num- 
ber. As shown on the accompanying plate, they 
total approximately 3,200 acres. It should be 
emphasized, however, that neither area nor loca- 
tion is fixed on the plan noted. The scheme 
should be considered more in the nature of a 
diagram. It is intended to be chiefly suggestive 
and to lead to more accurate surveys and more 
detailed plans. 

The park areas marked have suggested them- 
selves by reason of tree growth, natural rugged- 
ness, relation to one another, the possibilities of 
connecting parkways and boulevards and similar 
factors. Without an estimate of land values it 
is practically impossible to arrange these pro- 
posed parks according to their importance. 


{ 108 ] 


North Memphis would be greatly benefited by 
the establishment of a large park. Whenever 
the driving park comes upon the market it 
should be aequired for public use. 

In considering the park possibilities of the 
areas shown on Plate No. 47, it should be remem- 
bered that the essential purpose and use of 
parks has changed. The conception of park 
planning has likewise changed. Each unit of 
the large park system proposed should have a 
definite function. One should be a woodland 
park, wholly natural, an area full of delights 
for those who would lose the sights and sounds 
of the city. Another should be predominantly 
the animal park, a zoological garden worthy of 
a large and prosperous city. The zoo is certain 
to gradually become more objectionable in Over- 
ton Park and plans should be laid now for its 
transference to a more suitable area. In the 
system should also be a floral park, where green- 
houses and flower displays surpass in interest 
every other feature. There might also be a golf 
park or a water park featuring fountains, pools, 
lakes and water gardens; a botanical park; an 


Raleigh Springs, one of the suggested new outer 
park areas. 


AG be Pela aes NT LONG 


GeO MoM I-38 8 1 0 4 


arboretum; and an amusement park, with pleas- 
ure concessions the chief attraction. Each area, 
if the system were well planned, would have 
special attractions and interests. Going to one 
park would not be like going to every other one. 
The citizens of Memphis would make much 
greater use of these outlying reservations as a 
consequence of this diversification. 


PLEASURE DRIVES 


In the development of the recreation facilities 
of the future city, the aim should be to bring 
all features into a harmonious, connected system. 
There should be traffic ways, bearing something 
of the character of the parks themselves, by 
which the outlying recreation grounds may be 
reached. 

Pleasure drives are no longer to be considered 
expensive luxuries in the city. The comfortable, 
smooth-riding automobile has become a pleasure- 
giving device of great importance. Its use is 
constantly being extended. Definite routes over 
which such vehicles may move are urgent needs 
in the modern city. 

To be essentially what the name implies, pleas- 
ure drives must afford the user distinct pleasur- 
able sensations. The views ahead and alongside 
ought to be of a higher order than those found 
on ordinary streets. Pavements should facilitate 
smooth, comfortable driving. These thorough- 
fares, moreover, should have width and conti- 
nuity for traffic-carrying purposes and a digni- 
fied, impressive appearance. It is manifest that 
when pleasure drives are not planned before- 
hand and laid out as successive portions of the 
city are platted, the possibility of securing the 
distinctive characteristics noted above is consid- 
erably lessened. 

If a system of connecting pleasure drives can 
be anticipated in the platting of land they can 
be made practically to pay for themselves. Mem- 
phis should be able to encircle the present city 
with a chain of beautiful parkways and _ boule- 
vards. It ean do this if it makes the proper 
plans and adopts a forward-looking policy. It 
is suggested that: 

(1) A eontinuous pleasure route should be 
planned to encircle the city through territory at 
present unplatted or subject to replatting or 
modification. 

(2) This route should be located so as to 
prove advantageous to the property through 
which it passes. 


Three views of the Parkway, established twenty 
years ago. 


[ 109 ] 


Eee Nee 


Rees Peo eho 


(3) Through civic interest, supported inci- 
dentally by proof of the influence of such a 
system upon property values, the realty owners 
affected by the proposed pleasure drive route 
should incorporate their portions of the drive in 
their subdivisions. 

Needless to say, the willingness of realty own- 
ers to accept this scheme will depend upon (1) 
the ability of the city to assure continuity for 
the route; (2) the selection of a right-of-way 
line which will confer benefits upon abutting 
private property; and (3) the preparation of 
satisfactory detail plans for the improvement of 
the system. Isolated sections of a pleasure route 
are of little value. The city must act in good 
faith and see the scheme completed, once it pro- 
mulgates plans. This route should take prece- 
dence over all except major streets in determin- 
ing the frontage of lots. No homes should be 
allowed to turn sides or backs on pleasure drives. 
The drive should not be monotonous; there 
should be a variation in the treatment wherever 
topographic conditions permit. 

In accordance with the principles outlined 
above, there has been prepared a plan for giving 
Memphis a system of modern pleasure drives. 
This scheme contemplates development of a new 
parkway system surpassing the one aequired 
about 1900. Its details are shown on Plate 
No. 47. 

The following features of the proposed outer 
parkway system are to be noted: 


1. Routes are continuous. 


North Parkway before extension to Jackson Avenue. 


[ 110 ] 


2. The whole system is tied to the heart of 
the city. 

3. There are five arterial approaches to the 
city. 

4. Existing highways form a large part of 
the system. 


od 


5. The system has been properly correlated 
with major streets. Sections of parkway likely 
to be favorable to general traffic circulation are 
paralleled by major streets on which utilitarian 
traffic may be required to move. 


6. The system is composed of formal and in- 
formal boulevards and naturalistic parkways. 


7. Parkways have been chosen along the lines 
of water courses. 


8. Practically every section indicated is ar- 
ranged to contribute to values of property 
through which it passes. 


As planned, the new system originates in the 
very heart of the city. One of the fundamental 
defects of the existing parkway is that visitors 
in the business section of Memphis have no hint 
of its existence. They cannot become acquainted 
with its charms and attractions except by a 
journey of some distance over ordinary streets. 
The recent extension of the North Parkway 
makes the Parkway somewhat more accessible, 
but does not bring the distinctive drive into the 
business district. The plan accompanying pro- 
poses a rectification of this condition. 


Court Avenue is made the axis of the future 
business district. Court Avenue is planned to 


North Parkway connection with Jackson Avenue. 
(Incomplete.) 


CHESS Pee N NG 


(Ci OD WE GE SS) Ih ON 


View toward the business district on Court Avenue. 


be 100 feet wide instead of 60 feet. On the axis 
of this widened avenue should stand two fea- 
tures—one, a tall shaft in Court Square, and 
the other a monument at Court Avenue and 
Lauderdale Street. 

From a cirele at the latter point should radi- 
ate three arteries leading to the more distant 
system of pleasure drives. (See Plate No. 12.) 
Over Marshall Avenue, Union Avenue may be 
reached, and Union Avenue, if extended to meet 
Walnut Grove Road, becomes the backbone of 
the pleasure drive system. Over a new street 
constructed northwardly along the line of High 
Street, as shown in Plate No. 12, the North 
Parkway would be reached. Woodlawn Street 
should be extended to the North Parkway to 
afford an outlet to the north. To the south 


Court Avenue, looking east from Court Square. 


Wellington Street seems most suitable as a pleas- 
ure drive. The development of this thorough- 
fare should include correction of jogs, uniform 
paving, removal of car lines and eventual widen- 
ing. Such a route southward would do a great 
deal to inerease the usefulness of Riverside 
Park. 

The new lengths of the proposed outer park- 
way are chiefly in territory not yet platted. In 
the development of these sections lies the city’s 
greatest opportunity. By enlisting the support 
of the real estate interests who will plat the 
land through which these lines run, the city 
would secure a boulevard system of great attrac- 
tiveness. The types of boulevards recommended 


for these are listed below and are shown on 
Plate No. 48. 


An indication of the landscape along the suggested new 
Parkway north of Wolf River. 


Ri; 


1 Uh 2 A: 


BePwORk 


———— 


SCALE OF CIROSS SECTIONS 


10 5 0 5 19 15 2075 30 
ONE INCH EQUALS TEN FEET. 
(922 


MEMPHIS 


SUGGESTED CROSS SECTIONS OF PLEASURE DRIVES 


TENNESSEE 


MARLAND BARTHOLOMEW 
CITY PLAN ENGINEER 
SAINT LOUIS MISSOUe! 


¥ “/=30 FOOT ser Back UNE 


SINGLE ROADWAY BOULEVARDS 
ay, SIX LINES ay 


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é 


= 
= je ers. re 
ea SET BACK LINES 
6 


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A BUILDING SET BACK OF 30 FELT OR MORE ADDS Cl 
GREATLY TO THE DIGNITY OF THE STREET- PROPER! ---— 


TREE PLANTING WILL GIVE IT CHARACTER. FS 6+ 


—— 


Sepearrae: STN 


THE FOUR LINE BOULEVARD CAN BE REDUCED TO 
A MINIMUM OF 8OFEET IF NECESSARY BUT THIS WIDTH 


BODES NOT PROVIDE FOR A FIRST-CIASS TREE PLANTING. 
| 


DOUBLE ROADWAY BOULEVARDS 


sae 


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SIX LINES Pes reer 59 oe ete A THOROUGHFARE 
OF THIS TYPE SHOULD 
FOUR LINES -! ars vee oe 100 FEET WIDE 
| Pierre i ———— tal {OO FEET WIDE. 
| DOUBLE ROADWAY BOULEVARDS WITH STREET CAR LINE 
EIGHO WINES: 7 gigas Sg eee ee IF STREET CARS 
= ARE TO BE AC- 
east Ls A DUBLE ROAD 
| SIX LINES ys ROG meer sears GE daw tsar | WAY BOULEVARD 
| THEY SHOULD BE IN 
See Pee Oe ec 
| 7 = ; << ta et tf ciezere eran i 
SIX LINES (ne = otst—e: omer BY PLANTING 


VARIABLE 
VARIABLE 


NOTE ARRANGEMENT OF LOTS TO 
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PARKWAY 


VARIABLE 


76 ike 
a 


me \ 


e 
LOTS SHOULD ALL FACE PARKWAY 
AT RIGHT ANGLES TO STREET LINE. 


———-VARIABLE. 


Plate No. 48. 


might take. 


[112] 


A suggestion of the various forms which a new system of. pleasure drives 


Cm eee lia Y, 12 Ab AN IN INE IE DNC 4G 


Ce ORM Mel SSIs Ol oN 


TYPES oF PLEASUREWAYS AND MINIMUM 
STANDARDS 


Roadway in Center—No Street Cars 


The minimum should be a four-line vehicular 
roadway, 36 feet. Two rows trees in each side 
parking. Building setback, 30 feet. Minimum 
width, 80 feet. 


Double Roadway—No Street Cars 


The minimum ean be two-line roadway each 
side, 20 feet and 20 feet; total, 40 feet. Center 
parking not less than the total width of road- 
way, 40 feet. One row trees in each side park- 
ing. Minimum width, 130 feet. 

This type ean be converted into a six-line 
thoroughfare by widening each two-line road- 
way six feet, the widening to be from the side 
parking. 

A four-line roadway on each side of a center 
parking requires a minimum width of 200 feet. 


Double Roadway—Double Car Line 


For ears, 20 feet. Planting either side tracks, 
minimum, 6 feet; total, 12 feet. Three-line 
roadway each side, 26 feet and 26 feet; total, 
52 feet. Double row trees in parking. Muni- 
mum width, 150 feet. 


Triple Roadway—Vchicular 


Center roadway, four lines, 36 feet. Double 
row trees each side, 70 feet. Side roadways, 
two lines, minimum 140 feet. Minimum over all 
width, 200 feet. 

These proposals are not entirely inflexible. A 
closer study of existing conditions at the time 
of making detailed plans will doubtless suggest 
modifications of proportions and general treat- 
ment. The fundamental principles to be fol- 
lowed in the design of the system may be sum- 
marized as follows: 

Boulevards and parkways are to be created 
for a distinct purpose—pleasure. This pleasure 
may come from living upon them or driving or 
walking on them. The pleasurable effect is to 
be secured by special treatment and attention to 
matters not usually considered in the develop- 
ment of ordinary streets. 

(1) Pleasure drives should be wide, which 
insures dignity, impressiveness, comfort. 

(2) ‘Traffic should be restricted—to preserve 
the street scene from incongruous, disturbing 
notes. 


(3) Paving should especially contribute to 
the pleasure of using these thoroughfares. 


(4) Private building development should be 
regulated—to secure unity and harmony. 


(5) Planting should be of the highest type, 
for upon this one feature depends a consider- 
able portion of the effectiveness of either formal 
or informal pleasure drives. 


(6) Special eare should be given the lawn 
areas, and planting and proper maintenance of 
roadway should be assured. 


(7) <A generous building setback will add 
spaciousness to the pleasure drive and permit a 
wider planting of trees. 


(8) Car lines, if need be, can be accommo- 
dated on streets of this type, but they should be 
planned for and isolated as much as possible in 
a wide central strip bordered by planting. 


All these measures will contribute to the erea- 
tion of a first-class pleasure drive system. Most 
of them cost little or nothing beyond the regu- 
lation costs of any ordinary street. 


A DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 


In the preceding pages has been outlined the 
essential features of a system of recreation facili- 
ties. Those recreation units which Memphis al- 
ready possesses have been surveyed and an esti- 
mate of their usefulness and possibilities has 
been prepared according to modern standards. 
It has been found that most of the city’s effort 
in supplying recreation needs heretofore has 
been haphazard, unsystematic. This statement 
in no way belittles the judgment of those who 
have been in charge of the city’s activities in 
this field. It does not detract from the excel- 
lence of the parks which have been created, nor 
from the service which has been rendered by the 
parks, playgrounds and swimming pools. It sim- 
ply means that so far the city has been making 
progress by a planless method, a bit-by-bit policy 
lacking the support of a city-wide survey of 
needs and a definite program based thereon. ‘To 
supply this wider point of view, and to provide 
this measure of consistency, is the object of the 
following proposals. 

Briefly, in planning the future city the needs 
of recreation should be anticipated as follows: 


(1) Reservation of space in advance of 
actual needs is essential; only by so doing ean 


[113] 


Bp aNeeaA a 


Reb, er ORR aL 


East Parkway at Poplar Boulevard, illustrating transition from single to double roadway. 


the city be assured of an effective disposition of 
recreation facilities. 


(2) All recreation facilities should be located 
where they will render the maximum service. 


(3) The whole recreation equipment of the 
city should constitute a system recognizing the 
varied interests of all classes, to-wit: 


(a) Community centers should be de- 
veloped to serve the social needs of neigh- 
borhoods that lack such facilities. 


(b) Playgrounds should be _ placed 
where the largest number of children will 
find them convenient, and where city con- 
ditions have most seriously handicapped 
the children in their normal desire for 


play. 


[114] 


(c) Playfields should be introdueed 
wherever the youth of the city tends to 
concentrate. 


(d) Neighborhood parks, comprising 
twenty acres or more, should be given a 
dominant place in the recreation develop- 
ment program: one such park should be 
placed in the center of every square mile 
of the city’s area. 


(e) Continuous pleasure drives, com- 
posed of straight, dignified boulevards and 
beautiful meandering parkways, should en- 
circle the city, being located where they 
will produce the greatest returns to the 
city in pleasure and in enhanced property 
values. 


(f{) Large reservations of native topog- 


Ce barley: PeLrAe NaN teNeG GUuOe My Males =S* if. O7 Ni 


raphy should be made for the use of the (5) The direction of the uses of all recrea- 

city dwellers of the future—lands of little tion facilities should be so harmonized that they 
value for other purposes, hills, valleys, wa- will not conflict. 

ter courses, rocky ledges, riverside areas, By following the policy thus summarized in 

lakes and forest tracts become inviting re- the purchase, improvement and use of recreation 

treats and recreation places of great value. grounds, the city economizes in three notable 

ways: land is secured in its cheapest state where 

(4) The city should aim to acquire a total it is most needed; there is no duplication; and 

acreage for school and recreation purposes equal recreation facilities can be made to pay for 

to one acre per hundred of the city’s population. themselves. 


Brooks Memorial Art Gallery. 


[115] 


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CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 


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Plate No. 50. Use district map. 


Gols lay, Bai AON N= WN G 


Ce Oe Vee Sa Sa le OeN 


ZONING 


ONING, which regulates the location, use 
and size of all buildings and premises, is 
the natural result of modern eity condi- 
tions. Until recent years one could erect 

a building of any size, for any use, in any loca- 

tion, regardless of its injurious effect upon his 

neighbor’s property or the immediate district. 

Some measure of protection has been obtained 

through ordinanees limiting the heights of build- 

ings, through tenement house regulations, and 
by private restrictions. While some of these 
regulations have served as good expedients, they 
are essentially temporary measures affecting 
only certain districts or classes of buildings. 

There was no comprehensive plan for regulating 

and segregating the various types of buildings, 

and consequently city building was left largely 
to the whims of individuals and to the exploita- 
tion of speculators. 


The incongruity of garages next to schools, 
factories and filling stations in residence dis- 
tricts, and the intermingling of apartments and 
residences is obvious. Such uses, nevertheless, 
have been permitted in practically every city as 
the right of an individual to do as he may see 
fit with his own property. Happily, however, 
just as the courts have recognized the necessity 
of health, fire and building laws for the welfare 
of community growth, they have now come to 
recognize that zoning is but an amplification of 
these regulations and essential to orderly city 
growth. 


Zoning is now admitted to be a legal exercise 
of the state police power under which all regu- 
latory measures of a community are authorized. 
This power is necessarily broad in scope in order 
to meet the ever-changing conditions resulting 
from city growth. This fact is well set forth in 
the epochal zoning case (Hadacheck vs. Los 
Angeles), decided by the United States Supreme 
Court, affirming the Supreme Court of Cali- 
fornia: 


‘Tt is to be remembered that we are dealing 
with one of the most essential powers of govern- 


ment, one that is the least limitable. It may, 
indeed, seem harsh in its exercise, usually is on 
some individual, but the imperative necessity for 
its existence precludes any limitation upon it 
when not exerted arbitrarily. A vested interest 
cannot be asserted against it beeause of condi- 
tions once obtaining. To so hold would preclude 
development and fix a city forever in its primi- 
tive conditions. There must be progress, and if 
in its march private interests are in the way 
they must yield to the good of the community.’’ 
(239 U. S., pp. 394, 410.) 


That cities have been appreciative of the ne- 
eessity of regulating the development of private 
property is best evidenced by the sudden and 
continued popularity of the zoning movement in 
this country. Since the adoption of the first 
comprehensive zone ordinance, that of New York 
City, July 25, 1916, there have been recorded to 
date nearly two hundred zoned cities. An in- 
teresting point in this connection is that this 
great movement is not being carried on by any 
particular class or size of city—ranging in size 
from Idlewild, Ohio, with a population of 131, 
to New York City, with approximately 6,000,000. 


ZONING IN MEMPHIS 


Memphis is the first city in Tennessee to adopt 
a comprehensive zoning ordinanee. At the 1921 
session of the Tennessee Legislature this city 
was successful in securing, among other city 
planning acts, the passage of a comprehensive 
zone law. Though this was a local act, pertain- 
ing only to the city of Memphis, it embodied all 
the essentials necessary to good zoning. Imme- 
diately after securing the passage of this act, 
work was begun toward the end of securing the 
adoption of a comprehensive zoning ordinance, 
which necessarily entailed considerable prelim- 
inary study. 

In order to impose appropriate zoning regu- 
lations upon the development of all property, it 
was first necessary to obtain an intimate knowl- 
edge of all existing building development within 


Gpbileey 


the city. This necessarily required extensive 
field surveys and the preparation of numerous 
maps to illustrate the characteristics of the city’s 
present growth and future tendencies. In Mem- 
phis a complete and exhaustive study was made 
of the present development and all information 
was recorded on a series of study maps. 


Stupy Mars 
New City Map 


The nature of the zoning studies to be made 
previous to the preparation of the zoning ordi- 
hance required a corrected map of sufficient 
scale to insure legibility of the various indica- 
tions. No such map being available, it was nec- 
essary to prepare a new one, which was made 
in four sections at a scale of 500 feet to 1 inch. 


Mal Vo) 12) OY a Ab 


Use Map 


The first zone study map to be made showed 
by different color indications the use of every 
piece of property within the city. Differentia- 
tion was made between buildings used as one- 
family dwellings, two-family dwellings, apart- 
ment houses, commercial or retail stores, indus- 
trial enterprises, public and semi-public build- 
ings, and also city, railroad and vacant prop- 
erty, parks, cemeteries and the like. 


Height Map 


On this map was shown the variations in 
height of all existing buildings according to 
stories, a different color being used to indicate 
the following heights: 21% stories or less, 3 
stories, 4 to 6, 7 to 8, 9 to 10; 11 to 12.33 toma: 
and 16 to 19 stories, inclusive. 


er 
2 
2 
= 
= 
= 
= } 
cal 


A characteristic invasion which zoning is designed to prevent. 


[ 118 ]} 


ae Lee Ne Ngee Nie Gr 


CHOeMe Mees Salto N 


Area Map 


The percentage of the area of each lot occu- 
pied by a building, including accessory build- 
ings, was indicated on this map. Different colors 
were used to show all buildings occupying not 
more than 40% of the lot area, 41 to 60, 61 to 
80, 81 to 90, 91 to 99, and buildings occupying 
the entire lot or 100%. 


Density Map 


In order to determine the intensity of the use 
of land, a study was made showing the number 
of square feet of lot area per family for all dis- 
tricts used for habitation. The different indica- 
tions showed areas having less than 625 square 
feet of lot area per family, 625 to 1,249, 1,250 
to 2,499, 2,500 to 4,999, and 5,000 square feet 
or more. 

Assessed Land Value Map 


The assessed value of land was also illustrated 


WIND ROSES 
MEMPHIS TENNESSEE 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW CiTY PLAN ENGINEER 
1922 


" & N 
" we fy ye ww - 
tov soy : 
SS aS 
0 Se ov Ne ai Se 
t 


3 3 3 
WINTER 1918 SPRING 1918 AUTUMN 1918, 


N N N n 
ww we nw Ne NW NE Nw Ne 
me y> 
fw ew Lome ac & 
NS \ 
aw se oS 3k w se 
s 


3 $ 
SPRING 1919 SUMMER 1919 AUTUMN 1919 


” N N 
Me nw ye nw ne 
ON ue N A 
ew row c 
od 3e sw 3e 
5 


SUMMER 1920 AUTUMN 1920 


YEAR 1918 


N 
nw ne 
Ne 
v © 
oa % 
‘ > 


SUMMER 1921 AUTUMN 1921 


RAPHICALLY THE DIRECTION OF THE WIND 
R 
CF TIME THE WIND BLEW FROM 


Plate No. 50. One of the factors taken into account in 
planning industrial districts. 


by different color indications—the map showed 
the various values ranging from $25 a front foot 
or less, $26 to $50, $51 to $100, $101 to $250, 
$251 to $500, $501 to $1,000, $1,001 to $2,500, 
$2,501 to $5,000. 


Railroad-Industrial Map 


The locations of all railroads and industries 
were shown on this map, and distinction was 
made between different types of industries, un- 
objectionable and those which are offensive by 
reason of smoke, dust, noise or odor. 


Wind Rose Chart 


This chart represents graphically the direction 
of the winds for the various seasons throughout 
the year for the years 1918 to 1921, inclusive. 


SPECIAL STUDIES 


Non-Conforming Use Map 


Following the preparation of the two use 
maps, one showing present use of all property 
and the other the use districts as proposed under 
the zoning plan, a ‘‘non-conforming use’’ map 
was prepared to show all existing uses which 
did not conform to the regulations of the dis- 
trict in which they were situated. This map 
served as a check against the possibility of over- 
looking development and conditions already 
existing and which were deserving of consid- 
eration. 


Percentages of Different Uses 


A careful computation was made of the per- 
centage of the city’s area used for different pur- 
poses, i.e., residential, commercial and industrial. 
Upon the completion of the zoning plan a simi- 
lar estimate was made of the areas allotted to 
all uses. These two estimates are as follows: 


Use Present Under Zone Plan 
Industrial (and = un- 

PESLTICLEU NG wg... 22 o 3.6% 15.4% 
Commercialin. ats at 1.2% 6.3% 
Resid Cntial Wace nce 32.2% 40.3% 
Streets, parks, ceme- 

CePICS CLO toons 38.0% 38.0% 
Vacant property ..... 29.0% 

100.0% 100.0% 


From these figures it is to be seen that com- 
merece and industry can both expand approxi- 
mately 800%, while there is still room for an 


[119 ] 


J» VE IN| AN 1D; 


RE sO) Oh aa 


increase in residential development of 25%. 
Thus under the zoning plan Memphis ean ac- 
commodate within its present boundaries a con- 
siderable inerease in commerce and industry, 
and on the basis of present intensity of residen- 
tial development an increase in population of 
approximately 40,000. At the present rate of 
growth, however, Memphis will soon absorb all 
the available residential areas within the pres- 
ent city, and the need of extending the city’s 
boundaries will become pressing. 
PREPARATION OF ZONING ORDINANCE 

After these and other preliminary studies 

were completed, tentative zoning plans were 


prepared dividing the city into districts and 
recommending certain restrictions upon the use, 


height and area of buildings to be erected in 
each district. Two maps were prepared, one 
showing proposed use districts—residence, com- 
mercial and industrial—and the other the height 
and area districts in which were limited the 
maximum height to which buildings may be 
erected, size of yards, courts, setbacks, and the 
minimum number of square feet of lot area per 
family. These maps were reproduced and pub- 
lished in tentative form, together with the pro- 
posed zoning regulations for each district. Fol- 
lowing the distribution of copies of the proposed 
ordinanee it received considerable publicity, and 
after several public hearings the zoning ordi- 
nance was approved by the City Planning Com- 
mission and transmitted to the Board of City 
Commissioners for its consideration and adop- 


Parkview Hotel at entrance to Overton Park. Zoning will prevent the recurrence of 
such anomalies. 


[ 120 ] 


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SCALE IN FEET. 


OUNTY POOR FARM 
co 


EICHT AND AREA | Bf sag +3 LS 


CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 


LEGEND 


G 
A HEIGHT & AREA DISTRICT Y 


B WEIGHT & AREA DISTRICT 


. . SN 
C HEIGHT & AREA DISTRICT WN 


BD HEIGHT & AREA DISTRICT 


E HEIGHT & AREA DISTRICT 


kof : 
& IZ iA Ss 

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eestor ——————-v1 


Plate No. 51. Height and area district map. 


Ga? Tay 


PIL AwN Nel oN? G 


China M Ale S@eels ON 


tion. The ordinance was passed on November 
7, 1922, and became effective immediately. 


MerempuHis ZONING ORDINANCE 


In defining the different districts and impos- 
ing the various regulations therein, considera- 
tion was given to all existing uses and to proba- 
ble future growth. The provisions of the ordi- 
nance as adopted are not retroactive. Any build- 
ing used for a specific purpose at the time of 
the passage of the ordinance and located in a 
district restricted against its use, may be con- 
tinued, but no structural alterations are permit- 
ted which would tend to perpetuate it as a non- 
conforming use. The ordinance further provides 
for an administrative board to interpret its pro- 
visions so as to carry out the spirit of the regu- 
lations where the enforcement of the strict letter 
of the law would work an unnecessary hardship 
upon an owner. This board, however, does not 
have the authority to make any changes in the 
ordinance, as this power must necessarily rest 
in the hands of the legislative body. 


Provision is made for the necessary flexibility 
to adjust the zoning plan to meet changes in 
conditions by reserving the right to the Board 
of City Commissioners to amend, supplement or 
change the ordinance after public notice and 
hearing. Thus the ordinance insures protection 
and at the same time is elastic enough to permit 
of amendments in order that it will not become 
restrictive as conditions change. No zoning ordi- 
nance could be made practicable or legal that 
did not provide for amendments, as cities must 
grow, and growth implies change; while, on the 
other hand, promiscuous changes should not be 
permitted lest the stability of the zoning ordi- 
nance be destroyed. The ordinance, therefore, 
provides certain precautionary measures to pre- 
vent unwarranted changes. 


SuMMARY OF ZONING ORDINANCE 


The zoning regulations are classified under 
five subdivisions: (1) Definitions, (2) Use Dis- 
trict Regulations, (3) Height and Area District 
Regulations, (4) Administrative Board, and (5) 
General Provisions. The ordinance is accom- 
panied by two maps, namely, ‘‘Use District 
Map,’’ Plate No. 49, and ‘‘Height and Area 
District Map,’’ Plate No. 51, which show the 
boundaries of the different districts. The vari- 
ous regulations of the zoning ordinance are 


summarized below. 
Zoning Ordinance. ) 


(See Appendix ‘‘F’”’ for 


User District REGULATIONS 


As shown on the ‘‘Use District Map,’’ the 
city is divided into five (5) kinds of use dis- 
tricts: ‘‘A’’ Residence, ‘‘B’’ Residence, Com- 
mercial, Industrial and Unrestricted Districts. 
Existing uses which do not conform with the 
provisions of the zoning ordinance are permitted 
to remain, but any change in use must be toward 
conformity. The following is a resume of the 
uses permitted in each use district: 

oe Nea Residence District : One-family and 
two-family dwellings, churches, schools, libra- 
ries, farming, and accessory uses incidental to 
the main use. 

““B’’ Residence District : Any use permitted 
in the ‘‘A’’ Residence District; also apartment 
houses, hotels, clubs, boarding and_ lodging 
houses, hospitals, institutions, nurseries and 
green houses; accessory uses incidental to the 
main use, and public garages upon certain con- 
ditions. 

Commercial District: Any use permitted in 
the “‘B”’ Residence District; also retail stores 
and light manufacturing which is incidental to 
the retail business. 

Industrial District: Any use permitted in 
the Commercial District and any kind of indus- 
try other than that which ig noxious or objee- 
tionable by reason of the emission of odor, 
fumes, dust, smoke or noise. 

Unrestricted District: Any use permitted in 
the Industrial District and any other industrial 
use not excluded from the city by ordinances 
regulating the location of nuisances. 


HericguHt anp ArrEA Distrricr REGULATIONS 


As shown on the ‘‘Height and Area District 
Map,’’ the city is also divided into five (5) dif- 
ferent kinds of Height and Area Districts: 
pec eC eal) cand. Hi Heiehteand 
Area Districts. In each district provisions are 
made for controlling the maximum height of 
buildings and the minimum dimensions of yards, 
courts and setbacks, and the minimum lot area 
required for each family. Towers for oecu- 
paney, ornamental towers, monuments, spires, 
grain elevators and similar structures are not 
limited in height under the zoning ordinance. 
Certain exceptions are made for existing lots 


[121 } 


FeLaN@ay i: 


Reve SOmne. 


which are inadequate in size and could not rea- 
sonably comply with the area provisions. The 
following are, in part, the height and area regu- 
lations for the various districts: 


‘‘A’’ Height and Area District 


Height: 385 feet, or 2% stories. 

Rear Yard: 25 feet. 

Side Yards: Two—5 feet wide on lots 40 feet 
wide or more; two—s feet wide on existing lots 
less than 40 feet in width. 

Setback: 380 feet, except that where twenty- 
five (25) per cent or more of the buildings on 
one side of a street have observed a minimum 
setback such existing setback shall be main- 
tained. 

Lot Area Per Family: 3,750 square feet; but 
existing lots having a smaller area held under a 
separate and distinct ownership are excepted. 


““B”’ Height and Area District 


Height: 45 feet, or 3 stories. 

Rear Yard: 25 feet. 

Side Yards: Two—5 feet wide on lots 40 feet 
wide or more; two—38 feet wide on existing lots 
less than 40 feet in width. 

Setback: 30 feet, except that where twenty- 
five (25) per cent or more of the buildings on 
one side of a street have observed a minimum 
setback such existing setback shall be main- 
tained. 


Lot Area Per Family: 1,000 square feet. 


“OC”? Height and Area District 


Height: 90 feet, or 8 stories. 

Rear Yard: 25 feet. 

Side Yards: Two—6 feet wide. 

Setback: 30 feet, except that where twenty- 
five (25) per cent or more of the buildings on 
one side of a street have observed a minimum 
setback such existing setback shall be main- 
tained. 

Lot Area Per Family: 625 square feet. 


““D” Height and Area District 


Height: 90 feet, or 8 stories. 

Rear Yard: 10 feet. 

Side Yards: Not required, but 5 feet wide if 
provided. Note: Buildings erected in this dis- 
trict for residential purposes shall comply with 
the regulations of the ‘‘C’’ Height and Area 
District. 


[122] 


“iy”? Height and Area District 


Height: 150 feet, or 12 stories. 

Side Yards: Not required, but 5 feet wide if 
provided. 

Note: Buildings erected in this district for 
residential purposes shall comply with the area 
regulations of the ‘‘C’’ Height and Area Dis- 
trict. 


Height and Area Exceptions 


In the “‘A’’ and ‘‘B”’ Height and Area Dis- 
triets public or semi-public buildings may be 
erected 75 feet in height by providing additional 
open spaces. 

In the ‘‘A’’ Height and Area Districts dwell- 
ings may be erected 45 feet, or three stories, in 
height by providing additional open spaces. 

In the ‘“‘E’’ Height and Area Districts a 
tower not exceeding one-quarter of the area of 
the lot nor 60 feet in its greatest horizontal 
dimension is not limited in height. 

Where a side or rear yard opens onto an 
alley or street, one-half of such alley or street 
may be treated as a portion of the yard. 


GENERAL PROVISIONS 


The Zoning Ordinance is enforced by the Com- 
missioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and Build- 
ings. Certificates for occupancy are required 
before a new building or a building to be struc- 
turally altered is occupied, or before any change 
is made in the class of use of an existing build- 
ing. In the case of a new building or the altera- 
tion of an existing building a certificate of occu- 
paney and compliance shall be applied for coin- 
cident with the application for a building per- 
mit and will be issued within ten (10) days 
after the completion of building if building com- 
plies with ordinance. No charge will be made 
for the original certificate. 

Under the provisions of the ordinance, any- 
one aggrieved at the ruling of the Commissioner 
of Buildings has the right of appeal to the Ad- 
ministrative Board, which is composed of the 
members of the City Planning Commission, and 
all appeals are promptly heard by it. 

Where private restrictions on property are 
more stringent than the provisions of the zoning 
ordinance, the private restrictions shall prevail. 
Where the provisions of this ordinance are more 
stringent than private restrictions, then this or- 
dinance shall prevail, or, in other words, the 


b 


Cae le Y: Pe Aw Ne Ne LeNeG 


GLO SM eMITS Sl ON 


provisions of this ordinance shall be held to be 
the minimum requirements for the promotion of 
the publie safety, health and general welfare. 

The ordinance may be amended by the City 
Commission from time to time, after public 
hearings and recommendation by the City Plan- 
ning Commission, but if the property owners in 
the neighborhood protest against such change, 
then it will require a four-fifths vote of the City 
Commission to effect a change. 


Use DISTRICTS 


As disclosed by the use study maps, Memphis 
is largely a city of single-family homes. In the 
older sections there is a pronounced tendency 
toward the two-family dwelling and a consider- 
able number of rear dwellings. The latter is no 
doubt a result of poor land subdivision in the 
early days when lots were made large and un- 
usually deep. This condition, however, obtains 
almost entirely in the older central districts. 

The apartment house development has not 
been concentrated in any particular section of 
the city. From the present use map it can be 
seen that these buildings have been located some- 
what promiscuously in that area bounded by the 
business district, Cooper Street, Peabody Avenue 
and Overton Park Avenue. The commercial and 
industrial growth of Memphis has also been hap- 
hazard. While there can be found considerable 
business logically located along the main thor- 
oughfares and industries along the railroads, 
there is a strong tendency evident for business 
to encroach upon all the residence sections. 

It is particularly to be regretted that Mem- 
phis did not possess control of the development 
along its parkway, which has been marred in 
certain places by a number of makeshift com- 
mercial structures. This is a striking example 
of the need of placing the community’s interest 
above that of the individual. Here the citizens 
of Memphis voted bonds to create a parkway 
which would be an asset to the whole commu- 
nity and at the same time enhance the value of 
abutting and surrounding property without cost 
to the owners. The land immediately adjoining 
was naturally most benefited, and it is unfortu- 
nate that the improvements by individuals were 
not made commensurate with the importance of 
the project. To the contrary and notwithstand- 
ing the fact that the city at large paid to create 
the values along the parkway, the individual 
owners retained unrestricted liberty in the use 


of their land and many abortions have resulted. 

Under the zoning plan there will result a 
natural segregation of the various types of build- 
ings in Memphis. Those areas best suited for 
residential use have been reserved for one- and 
two-family dwellings, and sufficient areas have 
been allotted for multiple dwellings and apart- 
ment houses. 


Those areas somewhat remote from the busi- 
ness center which are used or are well adapted 
for residential purposes because of topography, 
reasonable land values, the absence of traffic and 
the like, have been designated for residential 
uses, while the high apartment district is lim- 
ited to a large area immediately adjacent to the 
business district and well suited to this type of 
development. 


The very reason for the apartment house is 
efficiency and convenience, and this applies not 
only to its design but to its location as well. A 
study of city growth will show that a central 
location between the downtown business district 
and the outlying residential sections is not only 
the most convenient for apartment dwellers, but 
is the best location from the standpoint of or- 
derly and efficient community growth. In every 
growing city there is a transitional district be- 
tween the business center and the outlying resi- 
dential areas. Very often parts of such areas 
are used for industrial purposes, but the older 
residential sections, where traffic and land values 
have increased because of their proximity to the 
business district, usually become blighted. These 
districts are fully developed with public utili- 
ties, streets and transit facilities, but neverthe- 
less they usually remain idle for the want of 
proper development. This condition ean in part 
be attributed to the lack of zoning regulations 
to fix the character of these transitional dis- 
tricts. With the character of development once 
established and values stabilized under the zon- 
ing ordinance, the older, close-in residential see- 
tions should logically become the tall apartment 
districts.. When one considers the problem and 
cost of providing public utilities, streets, transit 
facilities and schools, the reason for concentrat- 
ing these buildings near the central business dis- 
trict becomes plainly apparent. In Memphis a 
large district, which is particularly well suited 
to this use, has been designated between Lauder- 
dale Street and Bellevue Boulevard, and Poplar 
Boulevard and Union Avenue. 


[ 123 ] 


ER leeNewAG: 


REESE OR SL 


As a matter of convenience to residents, ample 
commerce has been provided along the main 
thoroughfares and at their intersections. Con- 
siderable industry has been provided for along 
the railroads and the river, and the central busi- 
ness district is zoned for light industry, which 
permits of some types of manufacture. In the 
downtown district the lower floors of buildings 
are used almost exclusively for retail purposes, 
but the upper floors in some of the loft build- 
ings are usually used for light manufacturing 
purposes. Obviously, to exclude these would 
work a hardship on certain kinds of business. 
Inasmuch as it is difficult to classify industries 
of a like nature into different classes, together 
with the fact that land values control the type 
of use in the high value district, it was neces- 
sary and practicable to zone this area to permit 
of light manufacturing. 


Unrestricted industry has been permitted 
along the railroads to the southwest and north. 
Memphis has a very small proportion of what 
is termed unrestricted or objectionable industry 
which is offensive because of the emission of 
smoke, odor, dust or noise. It will be found on 
the Use District Map that the districts allotted 
to this purpose are somewhat limited in size. 
This is due to the fact that the present city 
areas adapted to this sort of use are now mostly 
built up with buildings which would be affected 
injuriously by such use. Furthermore, the most 
logical place for such development is to the 
northeast beyond the city limits. This district 
is now being used for industrial purposes and 
is well adapted to further development. It would 
have the added advantage of being well located 
in reference to the prevailing winds, which are 
from the south and southwest. All smoke, odor 
and dust would be carried away from the city 
rather than across it. 


Hericutr Districts 


The prevailing height of buildings in Mem- 
phis, as in most cities, is two and one-half stories, 
or less. This ineludes a considerable portion of 
the business structures and most all of the resi- 
deneces. The existing apartment houses vary in 
height from three to six stories, and with the 
exception of the high office building district 
practically all buildings are six stories or less. 
Including all tall buildings heretofore erected 
and those nearing completion, Memphis will have 


[124] 


but seven structures which will exceed the height 
limit of 150 feet (twelve stories). 


Under the height limitations of the zoning 
ordinanee the general character of residential 
development is preserved by limiting the build- 
ings to two and one-half stories, while greater 
heights are permitted for apartments and busi- 
ness, the greatest height naturally being permit- 
ted in the central business district. In the large 
industrial and high apartment house districts 
buildings are permitted of ninety feet, or eight 
stories. In the central business district the lim- 
itation is 150 feet, or twelve stories. 


In spite of the fact that experience has proved 
that skyscrapers of unlimited height are not 
only uneconomical but injurious to the commu- 
nity, there still can be found some sentiment in 
favor of them. Fortunately, however, the desire 
for high buildings gradually disappears when 
the resultant problems are fully understood. 
Aside from the necessity of limiting the height 
of buildings for the purpose of obtaining 
sufficient light and air, the congestion of traffic 
on both sidewalk and street presents a serious 
problem. This can only be solved by limiting 
the maximum height of buildings and spreading 
out the development in the congested area. 


The business district of Memphis, which is 
true of nearly every city, is the original town 
site. Its streets were laid out primarily to pro- 
vide access to the abutting property. In addi- 
tion to this the streets accommodated vehicles 
and provided light and air to the low buildings 
which lined them. With scarcely any change in 
either the plan or width, these same streets are 
now expected to serve the occupants of tall 
buildings and to accommodate much more pedes- 
trian and vehicular traffic than they can reason- 
ably carry with freedom and safety. 


It is generally admitted by those who are 
qualified to speak that there is no financial jus- 
tification for very tall buildings. On the other 
hand, there is every good reason, from a stand- 
point of health, safety and general welfare, for 
limiting buildings to a reasonable height. It is 
often argued that height limitation retards city 
growth. This is exactly contrary to the facts 
evidenced by experience. For example, Los An- 
geles has an ordinance limiting the heights of 
buildings to twelve stories, yet it is the fastest 
srowing city of the West. As a matter of fact, 
Memphis, with its height limitation of twelve 


a ores, is etre 


tin & ; 


f 


ying one 


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stoiningxe fabsteubal sot witinsitegao gatwode 188 


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MEMPHIS 


TENNESSEE 


INDUSTRIAL 
AREAS 


CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 
COPYRIGHT 1922 


© 


LEGEND 


PRESENT AREAS. USED 
FOR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES 


_UNDEVELOPED “AREAS 
AVAILABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL 
PURPOSES 


DEVELOPED AREAS USED 


Vib 
ae 
WG FoR OTHER PURPOSES 


AND ZONED FOR INDUSTRY 


INDUSTRIAL ZONES AS 
OUTLINED ON. ZONE PLAN 


a os | 


i : ee ee | ee | 
Se Noe TS A ce fn = CIT WL 


sh 


S| 
NJ 


= 


= 
A 
! 


Z | go> i] aja ae ANP ; = = 


soos sear 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW 
ste ts H CITY PLAN ENGINEER — 
aes ST. Louls missount 


Plate No. 52. Showing opportunities for industrial expansion. 


Craplae Leys 


Ee eA sone NG TooNe} G 


CRORM MeisS Se lO = N 


stories, is enjoying one of the greatest building 
activities in the business district that it has ever 
experienced, and the zoning ordinance has been 
in effect over a year. 


AREA DISTRICTS 


The area of the lots occupied by buildings 
with their accessory buildings varies from 40% 
or less in the residence areas to 100% in the 
downtown district. The setbacks, side and rear 
yards, and courts vary considerably, depending 
upon the district. In the newer residential see- 
tions, where the typical lot is 50x150 feet, good 
standards have been observed for providing open 
spaces about the buildings. This is further illus- 
trated on the density map, which shows, with 
the exception of the older districts, that the 


ee ee 
\ \ 
MEMPHIS \ \/t 
TENNESSEE 4 


AREAS SUITABLE [OR 
OUTSIDE OF PRES 


17 
SCALE IN MILES 
° aMILE 


R INDUSTRIAL 
ala 


AREAS BEYOND 

SUITABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL USES}\ 
== MAIOR STREETS IN AREAS BEYO 

PRESENT CITY LIMITS. 
sams PARKWAYS AND BOULEVARDS IN 
AREAS BEYOND CITY LIMITS. 


residences generally have a lot area of 5,000 
square feet or more per family. In the older 
districts the lot area per family varies greatly 
because of poor land subdivision and consequent 
haphazard development. Instances of a peculiar 
practice abound in the old residential sections. 
There the blocks usually are large and of irregu- 
lar sizes. Houses were originally built fairly 
close to the streets bounding the block, thus 
leaving a large, unoccupied area in the center. 
At a later date this undeveloped land in the 
interior of the block was utilized for smaller 
structures, which resulted in a conglomeration 
of rear lot buildings without street frontage. 
Typical examples of this type of development 
are illustrated on Plate No. 54, showine the 
overcrowding of land. 


a 


avenue 


Ba 


. 3[Whites}—— 
Poe ‘\ | 


) 
|rcsvcan sous} ioe ee { 
—_HARLAND( BARTHOLOMEW. 
—~_ CITY | PHAN ENGINEER “4 
SAINT | Lous MISSOURI / —s 
i H ) 


Plate No. 53. Suggesting the logical uses of property beyond the present boundaries. 


[ 125 ] 


PoeleN eA E: 


While the zoning ordinance must take cogni- 
zance of all these existing conditions, its opera- 
tion must also prevent all such deformities in 
the future. In order, therefore, to obtain certain 
minimum requirements necessary and conducive 
to good living conditions and at the same time 
not be confiseatory, the ordinance contains mini- 
mum setbacks, yards, courts and lot area per 
family provisions, and excepts, under certain 
conditions, those small lots which cannot reason- 
ably comply with the regulations. 


It is also well in imposing area regulations to 
take into account present customs and practices 
in each community. In Memphis, for instance, 
it was decided to permit two-family dwellings 
in the ‘‘A’’ residence district, and in order to 
be consistent this type of building is permitted 
on a typical lot of 50x150 feet, or an area of 
7,500 square feet. Hence the lot area provision 
in the most restricted district requires 3,750 
square feet per family. The lot area require- 
ment is reduced for multiple dwelling and apart- 
ment districts, depending upon the location and 
height of buildings; the requirement in the high 
apartment district being 625 square feet per 
family, which is equivalent to nearly seventy 
families per acre. 

It is generally admitted that the apartment 
house has a logical place in the larger cities at 
least, and that the present cost of building con- 
struction necessitates the maximum amount of 
economy. The so-called efficiency apartment, 
however, is presenting a problem which should 
concern every growing community. Not only 
are these buildings being permitted to exceed 
reasonable height and area regulations, but they 
are attempting to house a far greater number 
of families on a limited lot area than is econom- 
ically necessary. And inasmuch as the primary 
purpose of city planning and zoning is to regu- 
late and distribute the population of a city for 
the protection of health, safety and general wel- 
fare, the surest and safest way to accomplish 
this is by density regulation. 


In the majority of cities where the efficiency 
apartment is just beginning to be exploited and 
where land is reasonable and plentiful, it is dis- 
astrous for the community to permit high densi- 
ties in apartments. This not only has its reac- 
tion in the disruption of property values, but 
makes it utterly impossible to forecast with any 
degree of accuracy the needs of certain districts 


[126] 


TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF 
POOR LAND SUBDIVISION & 


~~ OVERCROWDING OF LAND 


MEMPHIS TENNESSEE 
CITY PLAN COMMISSION 


SCALE IN FEET 


WHEL “WH 
a 


3 ES 


WIS GIS 
NASK 


SUUNN is 


Plate No. 54. Lack of zoning regulations and subdivision 
rules has permitted certain abuses of property 
within the present city. 


in the way of public utilities, transit facilities, 
schools and streets. Density regulations, if well 
eoneeived and reasonably applied, will insure 
better living conditions and make it possible to 
build a city to meet its ultimate needs. 


LAND VALUES 


Land values are the result of a number of 
influences, important among which might be 
mentioned accessibility, traffic conditions and 
character of use. Accessibility in a sense is ben- 
eficial to all land, while, on the other hand, 
traffie affects various districts in different ways. 
Business values, for example, are enhanced by 
the presence of traffic. Conversely, in residen- 
tial sections values are appreciated by the ab- 
sence of traffic. The need of well-defined thor- 
oughfares to segregate traffic on certain streets 
and the lack of zoning regulations are reflected 
in the land values of Memphis. In the residen- 
tial sections the values are fairly uniform, while 
there is a noticeable variation along some of the 
business thoroughfares. No doubt the latter can, 
in many instances, be attributed to poor street 


Ci ae Lae Ys 


1B Ab ANOINTING; 


COR Vie Mae les SiS len OmeN 


development, as, for example, Union Avenue. 
The values were higher on this street for a 
stretch of several blocks east of East Street, 
which is more than one mile distant from the 
business district, than they were just east of 
DeSoto Bayou, only a few blocks from the busi- 
ness area. This general condition, of course, is 
unnatural, but it has been largely readjusted as 
to Union Avenue by its present widening. The 
same condition as to values is true of Second 
Street, Third Street and Jefferson Avenue, but 
this will be corrected by the improvement of 
each now progressing. With proper street im- 
provement and the character of all districts fixed 
under the zoning ordinance, there should result 
a more uniform distribution and stabilization of 
property values. 

The Memphis zoning ordinance has now been 
in operation one year and there are already in- 
dications of its beneficial influence. Business 
which has heretofore scattered haphazardly 


throughout the city is now finding its logical 
place in those areas best adapted to and set 
aside for that purpose. Moreover, the argument 
so commonly and mistakenly used that zoning 
restrains city growth is nowhere refuted more 
conclusively than in Memphis. This city, with 
its zoning ordinance in effect, is enjoying one of 
its most prosperous years in building activity. 
The ordinance has been in effect since Novem- 
ber 7, 1922, and for the twelve months succeed- 
ing there have been issued 5,236 building per- 
mits, aggregating in cost $20,720,169. These 
permits have been issued and construction begun 
on the great majority of the buildings without 
a single change having been made in the text 
or plans of the ordinance as adopted. Several 
cases, however, have come before the Adminis- 
trative Board for interpretation where the ordi- 
nance might have worked a hardship on the 
owner, but these required only minor adjust- 
ments due to peculiar conditions. 


The changing skyline. 


{ 127] 


natn mbna ART 


Mos et 
oie pel tt 


23 


a 


eNOS Mn yarear 


BE RE NA. 


LITEM NT EMail 


IBElh—(B EC S~ sea) | 


Forrest monument in Forrest Park. There should be many other monuments of this 
character in Memphis. 


[ 128 ] 


Carlee y, 


Pie Awe N ee Nea La Nia G 


Ca OmM~ MeleSeS ly ON 


CIVIC ART 


HE economie and social significance of the 
plan for the betterment of Memphis is 
well revealed in preceding pages. Street 
improvements are proposed for the pur- 

pose of stimulating circulation and making in- 
tercourse between districts easier and more eco- 
nomical. Street railway plans are offered as 
means of lessening congestion, with its attend- 
ant costs. Transportation changes are suggested 
to reduce the expense of duplicated effort and 
unnecessary conflict between carriers. Complete 
provision for all recreational needs is recom- 
mended as a means of preserving and improving 
public health. A zone plan has been prepared 
and adopted to advance the public welfare gen- 
erally through conservation of property values 
and direction of an orderly, healthful building 
development. 


The accomplishment of the aims set forth will 
noticeably increase the attractiveness of Mem- 
phis. Any improvement which tends to help the 
city to function properly will add to its drawing 
power. But to preserve its standing among pro- 
gressive cities, Memphis must do more than 
merely increase efficiency and preserve health. 
The appeal to the eye is not to be ignored in a 
betterment plan. 


This phase of civic development likewise has 
attractive possibilities. The pride of the citizen 
is stirred as his city rises above the common- 
place. The interest of the visitor is won by the 
dignity and distinction of the city as revealed 
in its appearance. A Memphis proud of its 
commercial or industrial supremacy could no 
better express the fact than through an enliv- 
ened interest in civic art. 


It is a notable fact that American cities gen- 
erally have neglected opportunities in this field. 
Ugliness has been accepted as if it were un- 
avoidable. Positive, determined municipal ef- 
forts in the encouragement of beauty are rare. 
With the exception of Washington, D. C., there 
is no city which stands as a praiseworthy exam- 
ple, influencing, as Paris does, the improvement 


a a 


of appearances in all cities around. There are 
no accepted standards and few public works of 
merit by which tastes may be elevated. 

Memphis, by comparison, has done well in 
developing its attractions. Its leading citizens 
have always had a high regard for cultural 
values. They have urged. their city to create 
beautiful parks, impressive public buildings and 
other features. Memphis, despite the hardships 
of war and pestilence and virtual bankruptcy, 
has been able in a measure to satisfy these de- 
sires. Here and there the city has risen above 
a mere materialistic existence and created civic 
monuments that splendidly typify the idealism 
of the old South. 

The city has resisted the pressure of expand- 
ing business interests and preserved Court 
Square. The open space makes the business dis- 
trict attractive, and Memphis is pleasantly re- 
membered by many visitors because of this one 
feature. 

The river front parks, Confederate and Chick- 
asaw, also give character and distinction to 
Memphis. While today they are but mere hints 
of what the founders intended them to be, their 
service in improving the appearance of the 
waterfront is by no means negligible. 

The pride of Memphis, however, is in the 
outer parks and parkway, acquired about 1902. 
These grounds, despite the fact that they serve 
a great variety of recreational interests and are 
intensively used, contribute notably to the 
charms and attractions of Memphis. 

Forrest Park, though small, has been designed 
and developed for maximum effectiveness. It 
provides an appropriate setting for the Forrest 
monument, which in itself is one of the city’s 
artistic treasures, and at the same time affords 
play space for the children of the neighborhood. 
This park, useful as it is, retains a dignified and 
impressive appearance. 

Improvements in the Fair Grounds, further- 
more, show excellent taste. This area is being 
developed in an orderly manner; the buildings 
are harmonious. This institution, unlike many 


[ 129 J 


1M INE Te 1b, 


Int Ie; 127 (@) Any “ah 


Shelby County Court House, a building which deserves a better setting. (Police Station on 
left; Municipal Auditorium under construction in background.) 


others elsewhere, will not be a hodge-podge, mis- 
cellaneous assortment of shabby structures, neg- 
lected during the greater part of the year. It 
will be in use and will be attractive at all times. 
The investment, as a consequence, will bring 
greater returns in recreation and pleasure. 

Other public works in Memphis are of high 
standard. The Shelby County Court House, 
which also contains the executive offices of the 
city, is a building of surpassing dignity and 
beauty. It derives as much advantage as pos- 
sible from its setting on a small plot, but needs 
an open space in front for the full display of 
the superb architecture. 

The Central Police Building erected by the 
city is a worthy companion of the Court House. 
The new Criminal Courts and Jail, which will 
be located on the block immediately north of the 
Court House, will round out the group extremely 
well. The Brooks Memorial Art Museum, in 
Overton Park, has,a charm which its park loca- 
tion greatly accentuates. These structures give 
Memphis distinction. They are far above the 
average in ability to delight the eye. 

In private works the citizens of Memphis have 


[ 130 ] 


freely recognized the appeal of things beautiful. 
Many old homes have been preserved. Their 
stately magnificence greatly adds to the char- 
acter of the city today. The newer homes, both 
large and small, are likewise of exceptional 
merit. Memphis abounds in bungalow districts - 
that are unusually attractive. On its residential 
streets there are many homes, both large and 
small, that cannot but create favorable impres- 
sions of the city. 

Every feature that adds to the attractiveness 
of Memphis, however, has come into existence 
without reference to a city-wide plan. Only the 
early squares and promenades, shown in Plate 
No. 38, were econeeived as integral, functional 
parts of the city’s structure. But they lost 
significance when, many years ago, the city 
failed to take advantage of the opportunities 
presented. Today the river front as a whole is 
far from attractive to the eye. The Parkway 
is damaged by utilitarian traffic, which was not 
provided for elsewhere. The magnificence of the 
Court House and Police Building is to a degree 
lost through inappropriate surroundings. Other 
public buildings, such as Cossitt Library and 


Cae lea: 


eer se Nie Noe Le Nie Gr 


CeOe MEM ae S aoe le Os N 


the Auditorium, suffer similarly from restricted 
sites. 

The shorteomings of the features noted might 
have been obviated if Memphis had looked ahead. 
The river front promenades should have been 
preserved and extended. Parallel utilitarian 
streets should have been developed along with 
the Parkway. Public buildings should have been 
grouped on sites provided for them. No extra 
expense would have been involved. By follow- 
ing well-prepared plans and anticipating growth 
and expansion the city would merely have pre- 
served and enhanced the value of its work. 

It is still possible to devise a program for the 
improvement of the city’s appearance. The city 
plan, though dealing principally with more fun- 
damental problems, nevertheless recognizes the 
usefulness and need of proper civie adornment. 
An anticipatory plan for the guidance of such 
work, therefore, is linked with street, transit, 
transportation and zoning plans. Merely by 
taking advantage of opportunities and favorable 
conditions resulting from improvements in these 
latter fields the city can develop a more distine- 
tive and attractive character. The chief require- 
ment is an acceptance of the principle that civie 
art is a civic necessity, and that this phase of 
the city’s development ean be planned in ad- 
vanee and systematically carried forward with- 
out necessarily involving extravagance or waste 
of public funds. 


A Civic Art PRoGRAM 


In the development of a serviceable and effi- 
cient street system Memphis will have many op- 


re | 
a 
” 
x 
z 
< 
x 
4 


“\| aTeN§i0" COMPLETED 


T i 


HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW - City PLAN ENGINEER. 


portunities to combat ugliness and to create new 
and more pleasing street pictures. The exten- 
sion of such streets as Lauderdale, Gayoso and 
Mississippi will tend to brighten up and rehabili- 
tate districts that now are no credit to the eity. 

In such instances also a careful regard for 
curves and intersections will increase the attrac- 
tiveness of the new thoroughfares. The inter- 
section of the North Parkway and Jackson Ave- 
nue is again presented as an illustration of the 
opportunities which street improvements offer 
for civie art. When Jackson Avenue is widened 
and High Street developed as a part of the 
parkway system, the intersection plan shown in 
Plate No. 55 should be carried out. Comprehen- 
sive planning implies an acceptance of all such 
chances to improve the character and appear- 
ance of the city. 

The plan for widening Court Avenue and 
making it a part of the parkway system is essen- 
tially related to civie art. There are inspiring 
possibilities in the view down this street from 
either end. <A shaft or upstanding feature on 
the axis of this street in Court Square would 
introduce a new note into the business district. 
In the circle proposed near the intersection of 
Court Avenue and Lauderdale Street another 
monument should stand on the line of Court 
Avenue, terminating the view from Court 
Square. 


PARKS 


Memphis has had unusual success in creating 
small parks which serve the city principally as 
beauty spots. The usefulness of tiny squares 


SUGGESTED ULTIMATE DEVELOPMENT OF 


WIPE Re CAN PR SIE oui 
NORTH PARKWAY &-JACKSON AVE. 


Plate No. 55. The city should take advantage of all opportunities to create safe and 
attractive intersections. 


[ 131 ] 


vl eeN aeons 


Re EePROene 


and triangles for such purposes must not be 
underestimated. They add attractiveness to the 
city that is worth more than the cost of main- 
taining them. Snbdivision owners should be 
urged to dedicate for park purposes small areas 
at important street intersections, particularly 
where an added bit of space will make possible 
easier, safer traffic movement at the corners. If 
such small spaces have a safety value and confer 
benefits upon the public at large, the city is 
justified in taking them over and assuming the 
cost of development. If these parks have only 
a local significance, however, the same is not 
true: 

The plan of large parks and pleasure drives, 
discussed in detail under Recreation, also has 
value as a means of adding to the beauties of 
Memphis. The prospect of surrounding the city 
with a continuous, tree-bordered drive longer 
and more varied in its attractions than the pres- 
ent Parkway cannot but stir the imagination. 
When the low initial cost of securing such a 
boulevard and parkway system is considered, it 
seems costly for the city to delay action. The 
passing of time deprives the city of many oppor- 
tunities. 


Pusiic BUILDINGS 


Memphis has practically lost the chance to 
create an impressive group of public buildings. 
With the erection of the Criminal Courts and 
the Auditorium, the buildings of the city for 
the public purposes will be well supplied. A 
city hall will eventually be erected, but it alone 
cannot determine a future group. There is but 
little opportunity moreover to develop a satis- 
factory civie center around existing buildings. 
The most feasible plan for that purpose would 
be to clear the two blocks bounded by Second, 
Third, Adams and Court Streets, and surround 
this space with additional buildings. This would 
afford an excellent view of the Court House 
from Court Avenue, if improved as suggested, 
and would create additional land values about 
this open space possibly equal to its cost. The 
immediate expense of this plan, however; the 
practical difficulties in the way, and the remote 
possibility of realizing such a complete grouping 
has not seemed to-warrant the inclusion of a 
plan of this project. 

The only other favorable opportunity for Mem- 
phis to build a public building with an appro- 
priate setting in the downtown district is in the 


[ 132 ] 


proposed park east of the business district. As 
will be recalled, it has been recommended that 
the park created here be made a complete recrea- 
tion center, with a community building oecupy- 
ing a dominant position on the axis of Court 
Avenue. The effectiveness of the recreation cen- 
ter will be greatly increased by such a building, 
and if the latter is well designed and properly 
placed the view east on Court Avenue will be- 
come one of the noteworthy vistas of the city. 
It is unfortunate that the Auditorium, now 
eramped on Main Street, was not placed in some 
such central and more attractive position. 

In school architecture Memphis has consider- 
able room for improvement. The buildings them- 
selves, even the more recent ones, are not as 
attractive as they should be. It should not be 
forgotten that the esthetic training of school 
children is to be accomplished more by example 
than precept. School buildings should be beau- 
tiful. School grounds should enhance the 
charms of the structure, and the whole school 
plant should be orderly and well arranged. 
Schools are notable civic monuments. Memphis 
has not placed the proper appreciation upon 
either buildings or grounds. 


PRIVATE BUILDINGS 


There is little that the city itself can do 
toward stimulating better architecture in private 
buildings. The method followed in Cleveland, 
Ohio, might be used effectively. There a City 
Plan Committee of the Chamber of Commerce 
each year makes a series of awards to the most 
praiseworthy among three classes of structures 
—apartments, factories, and commercial build- 
ings of three stories or less. 

The field was restricted to these three types 
because little attention is generally paid to the 
exterior design of such buildings. Churches, 
hospitals and larger commercial structures are 
all likely to be much more earefully treated. 
The stimulus of the award in Cleveland has 
undoubtedly improved the character of all build- 
ing design in the city. Memphis might well 
adopt a similar plan. 


THE River FRONT 


The chief criticism to be made of the river 
front from the standpoint of appearance is its 
disorder and general shabbiness. As may be 
discovered by reference to Chapter VI, the domi- 


Ce Leys 


Ee Le eA Nae Nee le Ny Gr 


CROMMeN ele Se Sele OmN 


= - eet 


nant funetion of this portion of the city seems 
likely to be always utilitarian. Memphis will 
probably never sacrifice transportation advan- 
tages to recover the old promenades. Any plan 
for the improvement of the district, therefore, 
must be predicated upon this fundamental as- 
sumption. It is possible, however, to make a 
busy, purely utilitarian waterfront attractive. 
Such sections are never uninteresting, especially 
if they be well arranged and kept neat and 
clean. 

The river front is the front yard of Memphis. 
While at first it may seem difficult, if not pro- 
hibitive, to make a satisfactory plan of river 
front development, such is not the ease, for quite 
the contrary is possible. Today the river front 
is not merely unattractive, but represents a 
flagrantly unprofitable use of the property. As 
explained in Chapter VI, there are various uses 
of the river front that must be taken into ac- 
count in any development plan. The railroad 
tracks must remain and be elevated in order to 
reduce grades. A sloping wharf for use of packet 
steamers must be retained. Expanded facilities 
for a new type of river terminal will be re- 
quired. The frontispiece shows a scheme where- 
by each of these various utilitarian requirements 
have been taken into account, provided for in a 
most satisfactory manner, and still incorporate 
in the plan provision for the expansion of Chick- 
asaw and Confederate Parks, the building of a 
large promenade, such as was intended by the 
early founders of the city, between Union and 
Jefferson Avenues, and the establishment of a 
huge level parking area below the promenade 
sufficient in size to accommodate more automo- 


biles than are now parked daily in the entire 


business district. 


The plan shown is susceptible of gradual exe- 
cution. No immediate steps are necessary. As 
private improvements are made and as public 
funds become available, the various improve- 
ments can be accomplished. Regardless of 
whether the island may ever be developed as a 
park, greatly as it is to be hoped that this be 
done, this plan for the development of the Mem- 
phis river front is nevertheless desirable and 
practicable. Only the bridge leading from Court 
Avenue to the island, as shown in Plate No. 1, 
would be eliminated. 


With proper architectural design, attractive 
lighting, and the exercise of care in both public 


and private construction, this river front could | 
be transformed into a picture of combined com- 
mercial and recreational activities truly repre- 
sentative of the city’s character and unsurpassed 
in attractiveness in any other city. 


LicHTs 


The city, in selecting its street lighting equip- 
ment, has an unusual opportunity to contribute 
to its attractiveness. The standards to be ob- 
served may be summarized as follows: 

Place wires underground over entire city, on 
major streets first. 

Select suitable standards for business and 
residence streets and allow no variations. 

Avoid freakish or novel patterns in standards 
or globes. 

On ear line thoroughfare use bracket lamps 
from poles instead of installing a new set of 
standards. 


BILLBOARDS 


Billboards have spoiled many attractive vistas 
in Memphis. The abuse has been particularly 
noticeable along the Parkway. Until the adop- 
{ion of the zoning ordinance there was little 
restriction upon the erection of billboards either 
as to location or design. Under the provision 
of the zoning ordinance billboards are excluded 
from the ‘‘A’’ Residence Districts, which com- 
prise the great majority of the residence areas 
of the city and are subject to consent regula- 
tions of property owners in the ‘‘B’’ Residence 
and ‘‘C’’ Commercial Districts, thus protecting 
the great majority of the city’s area from the 
abuses heretofore prevalent. 


The despoliation of a beautiful parkway. Remove the 
billboards! 


{133 ] 


18) it 


{ 134 J 


A Southern mansion. 


Cee ae Lae Yi ie ee Nee Nie Lenin Gy (Ce OR ViVi Soe Sue ae Omen 


jecting signs to a distance of three feet from the 
face of any building. The enactment of such 
an ordinance would produce a most marked 
change in the appearance of the entire business 
district. 

POLES AND WIRES 


Poles and overhead wires are rapidly disap- 
pearing from progressive cities. Memphis should 
provide by ordinance for the elimination of all 
overhead utilities on a certain number of miles 
of streets each year. Supplementing this pro- 
gram, the owners of subdivisions should be in- 
duced to make provision for the accommodation 
of utilities on rear lot lines. 


TREE PLANTING 


Nothing so contributes to the appearance of 
cities as shade trees—uniform types, proper 
spacing and well maintained. Shade trees have 
particular value in Southern cities in reducing 
temperatures on city streets. Memphis should 
have a city forester. A definite tree-planting 
program for the entire city should be formulated 
and gradually executed. In new subdivisions 
trees should be planted by the developer of the 
properties. In other sections of the city trees 


The country fair effect produced by the sign display on ie s 
Main Street. should be planted. In many cities the cost is 


assessed against abutting property. 


OVERHANGING SIGNS SIDEWALKS 
At considerable expense an extensive orna- The pedestrian in Memphis has been given 
mental street lighting system was installed a little consideration lately. Sidewalks are nar- 
number of years ago in the business district. rowed in order to increase roadways, poles usurp 
Wires and poles have been removed to some the space, merchants use sidewalks for display 


extent and a majority of buildings have been 
built of permanent character and of good de- 
sign, so that the general impression one might 
expect to have of the business district would 
be quite satisfactory and pleasing. Strangely 
enough, the appearance of the whole business 
district is cheapened through want of a com- 
paratively simple regulation of. overhanging 
signs. One merchant has vied with another 
until the result approaches a small town street 
carnival. There are signs of various sizes and 
shapes projecting in some eases out to the curb 
line. This is wholly unwarranted. Most of the 
large cities have now adopted regulations as to 
the height and extent of projection from build- 
ings within which overhanging signs may be 
constructed, It is recommended that fae ordi- Front Street. Sidewalk space is public property and 
nance be passed which will hereafter limit pro- should be unobstructed. 


[ 135 j 


Oe N aes 


Ine 1D) de? CO) ay dk 


x= 


and storage, and at street crossings automobiles, 
for want of lines marking sidewalk extensions, 
disregard pedestrians entirely. The city has 
ample power to correct all such conditions and 
normally should be expected to preserve public 
rights fully wherever sidewalk capacities are in 
question. 
HoME GROUNDS 


It is not generally the custom for a munici- 
pality to concern itself with the appearance of 
private property. The city may stimulate an 
interest in such matters by contests, by free 
advice on matters of planting and by its own 
activities in parks and around public buildings. 
In this connection clubs and societies can also 
be of great help through their freedom to offer 
prizes and awards. 


MoNUMENTS 


Memphis has only faintly revealed her rich 
historical background in public monuments. De- 
Soto is remembered only by a park of that name. 
The Chickasaw Indians and their chieftain, 
Chisea, are largely unknown to the youth of 
Memphis. Jackson and his association with 
early Memphis is forgotten except as the citizen 
occasionally sees the small bust of the patriot in 
the Court House. The city has become rich 
enough now to erect suitable monuments com- 
memorating the men and events of its history. 
What could be more fitting than a shaft in 
Court Square bearing evidence of the gratitude 
of the city that it was enabled to rise from the 
depths of war, fever and a broken treasury to 
stand now on the high road to greatness? 


Tree planting on North Parkway. 


[ 136 ] 


CL hy, 


——— 


Pea Ne Ne eaN 


COTM MEle Sa Sle oO aN 


THE EXECUTION OF THE CITY PLAN 


N preceding pages a program of physical 
improvements, public and semi-public, 
has been outlined, which in themselves 
and in their influence upon improve- 

ments of private character should so mould the 

city in the next twenty to fifty years as to pro- 
duce a much more desirable and satisfactory city 
structure than that of today—a city which 
should meet the more urgent demands of the 
future, for cities, like all hving organisms, must 
either progress or decay. It is perhaps well to 

pause now and consider how these various im- 

provements may be executed. Are they finan- 

cially possible and sound? When should they 
be undertaken? By whom initiated? How 
financed ? 


INITIATION OF WORK 


As a first principle it should be understood 
that the preparation of the plan does not insure 
its execution. Even were the plan adopted by 
law or ordinance as a more or less inflexible 
instrument, its enforcement could not be secured 
without popular support and sympathetic admin- 
istration. No law ean be stronger than the moral 
force behind it. The city plan is not in its en- 
tirety a spectacular thing and as such cannot 
continually be expected to arouse public agita- 
tion and vigorous support each time some of the 
- hundreds of minor details become involved. City 
planning is today a new and interesting subject. 
It appeals to the imagination and has attained, 
fortunately, the degree of popular support it 
should long since have enjoyed. If the plan is 
to endure, however, and withstand the ravages 
of selfish interests and of political manipulation 
it must have a well-qualified sponsor. This is 
the primary responsibility of the City Planning 
Commission. 


Having completed its first task of preparing 
the city plan, the Memphis City Planning Com- 
mission now faces the second and perhaps more 
arduous duty of maintaining its integrity, for 


it is here assumed that the long labor of prepa- 
acc Mal Rial gt ene a - 


ration has produced a plan that is correct except _ 


in so far as changing conditions may warrant 
“modification, amplification or supplement. The_ 
(its Ohana Commission, therefore, must_thor- 
OU ee the citizenship with— the funda- 


“details. “This has already been done to some 
extent, and there should be continuous effort, by 
lectures, by printed reports, by newspaper arti- 
cles and by such other means, to keep the plan 
alive. The ramifications of work incident to the 
execution of the city plan are great indeed and 
should have appeal to many different elements 
of the city’s population. By properly directed 
continuous promotional and educational work 
the city y plan will gain in popular understand- 
ing and command greater and greater support. 
Only in this way will it be possible to secure at 
some future date, when conditions are favorable, 
the necessary public support for the passage of 
bond issues for the larger projects, such as the 
river front improvement and the Court House 
plaza. Thus may be described the most impor- 
tant function of the City Planning Commission 
—the furnishing of leadership. 


The city plan, to be-suecessful, must_first—be 
widely und widely understood—and_appreciated. Popular 
“appreciation and support will accomplish more 
than the most vigorous enforcement of a plan 
adopted by law but meagerly understood, if not 
completely misunderstood. Co-operation is bet- 
ter than compulsion. 


Tue Crry PLANNING COMMISSION 


The Memphis City Planning Commission is 
appointed by the Mayor, subject to approval by 
the City Commission, under authority of Chap- 
ter 162 of the Private Acts of Tennessee, 1921. 
(Appendix ‘‘B.’’) The Commission consists _of 
eight citizens and four. city officials (see page 
4). The citizen members serve without pay 
for terms of three years each, expiration of 
terms being such as to create overlapping of 
membership. 


{ 137] 


helen Ae 


DuTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE City PLANNING 
COMMISSION 


The state law authorizing the appointment of 
the City Planning Commission and the ordinance 
(Appendix ‘‘E’’) creating the commission place 
little or no final responsibility in its hands. This 
is essentially in accord with the principle of our 
democratic forms of government. Responsibility 
should rest with elective rather than appointive 
officials. 

It may be contended, and properly so, that a 
body without authority over the execution of its 
work will soon lose interest. Here again the 
factor of co-operation appears, for there must 
be harmony and good understanding between the 
Planning Commission and other public officials 
if satisfactory accomplishment is to be had. To 
deprive elective officials of authority and place 
it in the hands of the City Planning Commission 
would accomplish nothing without co-operation. 

The most satisfactorily functioning city plan- 
ning commissions are those whose duties are ad- 
visory rather than administrative, which com- 
missions by diligent, earnest and constant en- 
deavor have won the support of their public and 
upon which city councils and city commissions 
are coming to rely for recommendations care- 
fully arrived at on all matters pertaining to the 
city plan. 

The state law and present ordinance have 
been framed with this end in view. Once this 
city plan shall have been approved by the City 
Commission, no departure therefrom should take 
place until approved by the City Planning Com- 
mission, disapproval by such Commission being 
subject to overruling only by the City Commis- 
sion. This procedure should produce thorough- 
ness of consideration on all subjects where dif- 
ferences of opinion arise and, where fair-mind- 
edness prevails, should presuppose proper main- 
tenance of the plan. The City Planning Com- 
mission is required by law to pass upon land 
subdivision plats within the city, disapproval by 
the Commission being subject likewise to over- 
ruling by the City Commission. 

Under the provisions of the zoning ordinance 
the City Planning Commission is constituted as 
an administrative board (or board of appeals). 
(See Appendix F, Section 17.) This is a most 
proper illustration of the function of the Com- 
mission-—assisting in the administration of an 
ordinance which is a part of the plan prepared 


[ 138 ] 


Jat 18, 12) KO) tah 4 


by the Commission, but approved and passed in 
official form by the City Commission. 

A further function of the City Planning Com- 
mission should be gradually to improve or sup- 
plement the plan. By way of illustration, the 
plan makes no detailed program of public school 
locations. This is a consideration related to, but 
not essentially a part of, the city plan. The 
Commission could properly undertake a school 
building survey—a most needed supplement to 
the survey of the public school system conducted 
by the United States Department of Public Edu- 
cation, and a survey that should be most wel- 
come to the Board of Education. An untouched 
field in Memphis is the study and improvement 
of housing conditions. There is opportunity for 
real constructive effort by the Planning Com- 
mission in this matter of housing betterment, 
which is closely indeed related to the city plan. 


One of the most useful and interesting duties 
of the Planning Commission in the gradual de- 
velopment of the plan will be to assist in the 
selection of sites for numerous semi-publie strue- 
tures such as churches, hospitals, institutions, 
and the lke. This is a voluntary service that 
is already being sought—a service of great 
value to those who would build with equal ad- 
vantage to themselves and to their city. 


As difficulties in execution of the plan arise 
from time to time, the City Planning Commis- 
sion should furnish the initiative in the prepara- 
tion of needed legislation or by taking such 
action as may be necessary to facilitate execu- 
tion. This may involve the calling of confer- 
ences with property owners in connection with 
some project, such as a street widening, or with 
utility companies for consideration of a grade 
separation, holding of public hearings, and the 
lke. 

The state law requires that the Commission 
make an annual report of its activities and to 
offer its recommendations for future projects. 
These annual reports will offer opportunity of 
recording progress in the accomplishment of the 
plan and of recording useful information of the 
value of the plan in the building of a better city. 
The Planning Commission office should develop 
complete files of the number, location and char- 
acter of new buildings, of public improvements 
generally, and otherwise develop statistical in- 
formation for which one may now seek in vain 
in most cities. Not the least opportunity for 


(Gi Ae A NG 


ae eae NaN LeeN SG 


CO WE Sy Ry OL IN 


service to be rendered in this field is the assist- 
ance that could be given the Chamber of Com- 
merece in the location of new industries. 

From the foregoing discussion it is evident 
that there is an unlimited field of usefulness for 
the City Planning Commission. A proper un- 
derstanding of the Commission’s field of action 
demonstrates the fact that final responsibility is 
not essential—in fact, might hamper the free- 
dom of action and the exercise of initiative now 
needed in a rapidly developing science. 

The duties and functions of the City Plan- 
ning Commission may be briefly summarized as 
follows: 


(1) Conduet of educational and promotional 
work. 

(2) Development of co-operative effort by 
citizens and city departments. 


(3) Consideration of alterations or amend- 
ments to the plan. 


(4) Approval of subdivision plats. 


(5) Administrative Board for Zoning Ordi- 
nance. 


(6) Preparation of new legislation. 


(7) Offer suggestions for improvement of 
housing conditions. 


(8) Assist in location of semi-publie im- 
provements. 


(9) Preparation of annual reports showing 
progress of plan and making recommendations 
for new work. 


OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES 


Even if it were desired to concentrate all 
responsibility for the execution of the city plan 
in the Planning Commission, such is not possi- 
ble under present forms of government. Re- 
sponsibility for park acquisition is divided be- 
tween the Park Board and City Commission. 
School tocations rest with the Board of Eduea- 

\tion. The location and routing of transit lines 
is determined between the local transit company 
and.the City Commission. The City Commission 
is constantly improving streets, acquiring prop- 
erty and otherwise making improvements that 
have intimate relation to the city plan. 

The City Commission is consequently seen to 
be the most important administrative agency in 
the execution of the city plan. Because of this 


fact the state law wisely and purposely provided 
that two of the five members of the City Com- 
mission should be members of the City Planning 
Commission. It should be a reeognized obliga- 
tion of the City Commission to see that its vari- 
ous actions are in full accord with the city plan. 
This, happily, has been the ease since the initia- 
tion of the work in Memphis, and no departure 
from this policy should be tolerated. The city 
plan is of greater consequence than the fortunes 
of any individual or administration. No city 
official should so forget his obligations to his 
city or his office as to allow personal considera- 
tions to take precedence over the larger aspects 
of the city’s welfare. What is more, the City 
Commission and the various utility companies 
will find it greatly to their advantage and an 
ultimate economy to follow a systematic, scien- 
tifically conceived plan. Once again it may be 
stated that co-operation is the simplest, safest 
and most satisfactory method. The cities of the 
future will continue to plan more and more eare- 
fully. That city where co-operation fails will 
be at a distinct and unmistakable disadvantage. 


ADOPTION OF THE City PLAN 


Many steps have already been taken toward 
the accomplishment of the city plan in Mem- 
phis. (See page 6.) Certain state legislation 
has been passed. New legislation will be re- 
quired from time to time. Certain streets have 
been widened. The zoning ordinance has been 
passed. New recreation areas have been secured. 
Much can be accomplished by passage of addi- 
tional ordinances, a street tree ordinance, a pro- 
jecting sign ordinance, an ordinance for the 
removal of poles and wires, and the lke. It is 
not necessary here to enumerate all the meth- 
ods of procedure for each detail of the plan. 
Suffice it to say that each succeeding step will 
usually be a matter of easy determination. 


The plan here given is a program of improve- 
ments calculated to cover a period of many 
years. The order in which improvements are 
made, and when, is not so important as that 
each shall be so done as to fit into its place in 
the general plan. In order that there may be 
cohesion, Section 7 of the City Planning Law 
provides that ‘‘whenever the legislative body of 
the municipality shall have adopted a city plan 
recommended by the City Planning Commission, 
no public buildings, streets, alleys, ways, via- 


[ 139 ] 


Fa eN TALL 


ducts, bridges, subways, railroads, terminals, 
transit lines, parkways, parks, playgrounds or 
other public grounds or improvements or part 
thereof, shall be constructed until and unless the 
location thereof shall be approved by the City 
Planning Commission; provided, however, that 
in case of its disapproval, the City Planning 
Commission shall communicate its reasons for 
disapproval to the legislative body of the muni- 
cipality, and thereupon, by majority vote of 
such legislative body, it shall have the power of 
overruling such disapproval. The widening, 
narrowing, ornamentation, vacancies, or change 
in the use of streets and other public ways, pub- 
lic grounds or other public improvements, ap- 
pearing on the adopted plan, shall be subject to 
similar approval by the Planning Commission, 
and upon disapproval by the Planning Commis- 
sion may be similarly overruled.’’ 


This is in the interest of unity of work and 
should be the customary and natural procedure. 


MeruHops or FINANCING IMPROVEMENTS 


In the planning of new areas it will be possi- 


ble through the control of land subdivisions to 


accomplish many things contained in the city 
plan-and without cost.. Proper street widths 
ean be secured through dedication of the major 
thoroughfares as shown on the major street 
plan, and, to a limited extent, playgrounds and 
public building sites may be secured by dedica- 
tion. It is in the readjustment of developed or 
partially developed property where expense is 
incurred in the execution of the city plan. 
There are four ways in which cost may be de- 
frayed. The character of the work to be done 
will usually determine the method or combina- 
tion of methods by which it may be financed. 
The four_methods of meeting costs are (1) out 
of current revenue, (2) by bond is issue, (3) by 
benefit assessment, (4) by excess condemnation. 

Current revenue should seldom be used to 
defray the expense of city planning projects, 
for it is not customary nor good policy to make 
permanent improvements out of current reve- 
nues. Furthermore, current revenues seldom 
are sufficiently great to more than meet the run- 
ning expenses of a city government, and no ap- 
preciable sums can be made available out of 
eurrent revenues for\the financing of large city 
planning projects. 


One of the most satisfactory methods of finan- 


[ 140 ] 


Rae ee TOeR eT 


cing city planning projects is through the issu- 
ance of bonds. In this way the expense of any 
given project may be distributed over a period 
of years—a proper proceeding when the long- 
time value of an improvement is considered. 
Bond issues alone should not be relied upon, 
however, for numerous projects will often cre- 
ate substantial increases in property values in 
the neighborhood of the improvement and bene- 
fited property owners should share in the ex- 
pense. To finance all city planning work by 
bond issues would be unwise, for the limit of 
the city’s ability to raise money in this manner 
would soon be reached. Only so much of the 
cost of city planning improvements as is prop- 
erly a charge against the municipality as a whole 
should be financed by the issuance of bonds. 
Where benefit assessments are levied against 
property abutting an improvement, payments 
may be made by deferred installments over a 
period of five years, and the city is now empow- 
ered and has extensively used its authority to 
issue temporary bonds covering the amount of 
such deferred payments. 


To guard against excessive extravagance in 
the issuance of bonds it is the custom quite 
generally for states to place a limitation upon 
the amount of all bonds which cities may 
issue, varying from five to ten per cent of the 
total assessed value of property in cities in 
different states. There have been many un- 
fortunate abuses in the issuance of bonds by 
cities, notable among which has been the failure - 
to provide for amortization through sinking 
funds, thus causing continual refunding of 
bonds and the piling up of an unduly large 
annual interest obligation which must be taken 
from current revenue. Most cities now selling 
bonds for city planning improvements have 
adopted the serial bond, and this has been the 
practice in Memphis for ten years. A twenty- 
year serial bond issue, as an illustration, would 
require the retirement of one-twentieth of the 
principal each year in addition to interest pay- 
ments; one-half of the principal would be re- 
tired at the end of ten years, and only one- 
twentieth of the principal would remain to be 
retired in the twentieth year. Serial bonds re- 
duce very nearly to a minimum the total interest 
charges which accumulate where financing by 
bond issues is necessary. 


The most popular and perhaps fairest of 


CLs Tay: 


ee eon Nim Nie a Ne Ge 


CRO MeM? LoS Sauls ON 


— 


methods relied upon for financing city planning 
improvements in cities is by the benefit assess- 
ment method. Improvements usually produce 
inereased values of property in the vicinity of 
the improvement, and since this increase in value 
represents what has been termed an unearned 
increment, it is the custom to make a charge 
against properties so benefited according to the 
extent to which they benefit. In this way it is 
possible to undertake improvements without 
greatly adding to the public debt, which im- 
provements are usually desired and approved by 
the property holders in the vicinity of the im- 
provement. It is often neither possible nor wise 
to attempt to finance all of the cost of improve- 
ments by the benefit assessment method, for 
confiscation of property might result. Each 
project becomes a special case and the laws pro- 
vide for a special commission to determine the 
extent to which various properties may be as- 
sessed for a given improvement. The benefit 
assessment method of financing city planning 
improvements has the advantage of making pos- 
sible the undertaking of a larger number of 
projects than could otherwise be financed. It 
is limited by the ability of property to absorb 
the cost of improvement. 


The fourth method of finaneing city-planning 


improvements is by excess condemnation, or the 


taking of more land than is actually needed for 


an improvement—and the resale of such excess 


land presumably for a higher value after the 
completion of the improvement. This is a fur- 
ther development of the idea of benefit assess- 
ment, except that it involves possible change in 
ownership of properties and usually would also 
involve rearrangement and replatting of lots. 
This method has many theoretical advantages 
and has been used extensively in European cities, 
but has not been used to any extent in American 
cities as yet because of the fear that it is not 
wholly in accord with our constitutional provi- 
sions concerning the individual rights and en- 
joyment of private property. At the present 
time excess condemnation does not offer a very 
broad opportunity for financing city planning 
improvements. It would have the advantage of 
presumably recovering at an early date the full 
cost of improvements without the assessment of 
benefits upon private properties or the issuance 
of bonds, and would make possible the readjust- 
ment of properties facing improvements so that 


they might more quickly and appropriately de- 
velop. The disadvantage of conflict of existing 
laws already referred to, and the further dis- 
advantage that it would involve extensive opera- 
tions in real estate by the municipality, pre- 
cludes its extensive present use. There is fur- 
ther disadvantage in the excess condemnation 
procedure in that special legislation would be 
necessary to permit the issuance of bonds in 
amounts equal to full value of an improvement 
and for a term sufficiently long to admit of re- 
sale at higher values for frontage after comple- 
tion of improvement. There is also possible 
complication in separation of amounts of bonds 
against property taken for public use and for 
property taken in excess for purposes of resale. 


DEFICIENCIES IN PRESENT LEGISLATION AND 
PROPOSED REMEDIES 


The City of Memphis is not well equipped 
with legislation by which to execute the city 
plan. Memphis does not enjoy the measure of 
home rule accorded to most other large cities of 
its size, and it is consequently dependent upon 
the State Legislature for action in many cases 
of the most trivial sort. This is not in accord- 
ance with the modern conception of city govern- 
ment. Memphis would be in a much better po- 
sition to develop its city plan once it can secure 
a more complete measure of home rule giving it 
fuller authority to make developments, to finance 
improvements, and to take such other steps as 
might be necessary without being obliged so 
frequently to await the action of an overbur- 
dened Legislature, meeting for a few months 
once in every two years. 


The greatest deficiency in present legislation 
is the fact that Memphis must bear too great a 
proportion of the cost of street improvement 
projects. A combination of requirements, to- 
wit, that the city shall pay at least one-third of 
the total cost of any project; that there shall be 
a uniform front foot assessment regardless of 
the values of properties or of resulting benefits ; 
and that the city shall absorb the assessment 
against every separate tract in excess of one- 
third of its assessed valuation, causes approxi- 
mately more than forty-five per cent of the total 
cost of all projects to be borne by the city at 
large. 


Yet there is a reason for this. Twenty years 
ago, when the subject of municipal improve- 


[ 141 ] 


es Nee 


Ree eOGR ae 


ments under special assessment laws was agi- 
tated in Tennessee, the suggestion by no means 
met with universal and instant approval. On 
the contrary, considerable opposition was voiced, 
and those who were promoting this innovation 
thought the suecess of the venture demanded 
that a econeession be made in the way of having 
the municipality stand a substantial part of the 
eost. Accordingly this course was followed in 
securing the original legislation rather than to 
risk the defeat of the legislation by requiring 
that the property owners in the district should 
stand the entire expense. 


But now the time has come when there should 
be a complete abandonment of the uniform front 
foot assessment, and legislation permitting of 
the most modern practices in this respect should 
be prepared and submitted at an early session 
of the Legislature. 


The statement has frequently been made, espe- 
cially in connection with city planning work, 
that ancient principles and precedents in law 
must receive liberal interpretation to keep pace 
with present-day development and that the 
courts should be progressive in the application 
of such principles and precedents to meet mod- 
ern conditions. There is no better demonstra- 
tion of the truth of this statement than what 
occurred in Tennessee relative to the creation 
of special improvement districts. 


In 1905 the Legislature passed an act creating 
a special improvement district in Knoxville for 
improving a street under the front foot assess- 
ment plan. For thirty years prior there had 
been an unbroken line of precedent in Tennes- 
see that special improvement districts were un- 
lawful. This conelusion had been erroneously 
reached by the reasoning that special assessments 
were taxes, and as they would not apply gen- 
erally to the entire city, this method of raising 
money for public use violated the equality clause 
of the state constitution relative to taxation. 
The court had erred in confusing ‘‘general 
taxes’’ with ‘‘special assessments. ”’ 


The Knoxville act was promptly attacked in 
court, but to the undying eredit of the Supreme 
Court, before which that case came, the validity 
of the act was sustained—by a divided court, 
three to two, it is true, but this was sufficient 
for the purpose. (See Arnold v. Knoxville, 115 
Tenn. 195.) In that case the court recognized 


[ 142 ] 


the unbroken line of precedent in the state hold- 
ing special improvement district laws invalid, 
but it also recognized that Tennessee stood prac- 
tically alone in giving such an interpretation to 
its organic law. The majority judges recognized 
that an error had been made in the early cases 
by failing to differentiate between ad valorem 
taxes and special assessments in applying the 
constitutional provision relative to taxation. 
And the court was bold enough to correct the 
error and to hold such laws valid, even though 
the contrary rule had been reasserted and aecqui- 
esced in by the court for a number of years. 
Since that pronouncement a vast amount of 
public work has been done in various munici- 
palities in Tennessee under special improvement 
district acts. 


About 1907 the agitation was commenced in 
Memphis for the doing of street improvement 
under special assessments. Locally this sugges- 
tion did not meet with common favor, so another 
concession was made in the first acts passed, 
providing for the formation of special improve- 
ment districts in Memphis. This was that such 
a district could be initiated only upon the re- 
quest of a majority percentage (60%) of the 
landowners in the proposed district, but shortly 
street improvement under this plan became 
more popular and this requirement was abol- 
ished, so now the city can, of its own motion, 
ereate any such district. 


In recent years the front foot assessment law 
was modified (and the modification was sustained 
in court), permitting the city to extend the im- 
provement district beyond the termini of the 
portion of the street to be improved, thus bring- 
ing into the district a greater amount of prop- 
erty to share the cost. The land beyond the 
extremes of the actual improvement can _ be 
taxed only with its proportion of the cost of the 
widening or extension of the street, and with 
no part of the paving cost, this cost being eon- 
fined within the actual limits paved. Under the 
front foot assessment law the district must be 
confined to land abutting the street to be im- 
proved. The land within the limits actually 
improved pays one uniform rate covering its 
proportion of the cost of widening, extension 
and paving, while the land beyond those limits 
pays a uniform rate covering its proportion of 
only the widening and extension. The vice in 
this last is that no importance is attached to how 


(Gye hes g 


Bate NaN LNG 


COM Mie Mie eS rome la Om IN 


close to or remote from the actual improvement 
such land may lie. 


There is legislation of recent origin which per- 
mits the land on the street to be improved to 
be augmented by land on parallel and intersect- 
ing streets, thus largely increasing the district. 
And under this act the cost of the improvement 
is assessed against the land on a percentage basis 
proportionate to the benefit which each piece of 
land will receive. This is a much fairer method 
of assessment than the uniform charge per front 
foot. 


Memphis must now pay for all park work 
either out of current revenue or by bond issue. 
This places the full charge for park properties 
upon the municipality at large, and hence limits 
ereatly the ability of the city to develop a satis- 
factory system. It is quite remarkable that park 
facilities have been developed even to the pres- 
ent extent. A marked contrast to this situation 
is that of Kansas City, where one of the most 
splendid and complete park systems in the 
United States has been developed almost exelu- 
sively by special assessment rather than by 
publie expense, such as by bond issue or out of 
eurrent revenues. Memphis ean never expect to 
develop a satisfactory park and recreation sys- 
tem without having the ability to levy assess- 
ments for benefits. The Parkway has improved 
property values notably in some sections of the 
city, and here its cost could well have been de- 
frayed by special assessment. This has been true 
of certain parks and will be true of further park 
extensions. It is recommended that legislation 
permitting assessment of benefits for park and 
boulevard acquisition and improvement be pre- 
-pared and submitted at an early session of the 
Legislature. Such legislation could well be com- 
prehensive in scope, applying equally to parks 
and boulevards, to street widenings as above dis- 
cussed, and to other similar public improvements. 


At the 1923 session of the Legislature acts 
were passed (see Appendix ‘‘D’’) authorizing 
the establishment of building lines on streets in 
advance of the time when such streets might be 
widened, thus preventing the erection of addi- 
tional structures which would add to the final 
cost of the improvement. It is difficult to ascer- 
tain just how satisfactorily these measures will 
meet all requirements, for while their appliea- 
tion has been quite satisfactory in some eases, 


each case appears to produce different conditions 
and additional legislation may be necessary. 
Final clarification by the courts of the rights of 
the city in this respect will be necessary. The 
most difficult points involved are whether the 
amount of damage to properties included in the 
application of the building line easement may 
properly be absorbed and assessed as a part of 
the final cost, and how the city may finance the 
immediate payment of such damages. 


An act of the Legislature in 1921 (see Appen- 
dix ‘‘C’’) requires the approval of subdivision 
plats by the City Planning Commission and by 
the City Commission before they may be ac- 
cepted for registration in the office of the county 
registrar. This is a considerable advance over 
previous methods and will probably apply to 
90% of property platted in any year. There is 
a certain class of land developer, however, essen- 
tially speculative in character, who is dependent 
upon his ability to avoid regulation. This class 
of development is the most unfortunate source 
of bad planning. The American public cannot 
seem to learn that this exploitation of building 
lots can seldom become anything but a bad in- 
vestment. This class of developer sells proper- 
ties not from a recorded plat, but by description 
by metes and bounds, thus avoiding the require- 
ments of the present legislation. It is recom- 
mended that new legislation be prepared and 
submitted to the Legislature whereby this class 
of developer may be regulated, either by a pro- 
vision that deed of sale of any property less 
than two acres in size shall not be accepted for 
record in the office of the county registrar until 
same shall have been shown to be in a plat duly 
approved by the City Planning Commission and 
the City Commission, or by some similar regu- 
lation capable of legal enforcement. 


At the present time Memphis is growing be- 
yond its city limits. Land is being subdivided 
into streets and lots, and the most important 
time for control of the planning of the area now 
outside the city in the interest of the future city 
is passing while the city is powerless to take 
action. Recommendation has already been made 
by the office of the city planner for expansion 
of the city limits on the south to Noneconnah 
Creek, on the north to Wolf River, and on the 
east to Highland Avenue, in the interest of con- 
trolling development of land which is inevitably 
to become a part of the future city. While no 


[ 143 ] 


PaleNnea ui 


ge ee O) Fee 


action has as yet been taken regarding the exten- 
sion of the city limits, early consideration should 
be given to this important subject. Further- 
more, it is recommended that legislation be pre- 
pared and submitted at the next session of the 
Legislature authorizing the City of Memphis to 
control land subdivisions for a distance of at 


least three miles beyond the city limits. Most 
land developers will weleome an opportunity to 
plan their property in accordance with its most 
natural and suitable future function. The City 
Planning Commission will be most capable of 
advising upon the character of development 
which should take place. 


Union Avenue, illustrating the operation of a deferred 
set-back ordinance. 


[ 144 ] 


Ce lee eey! 


Pele ANS No EN: G 


CG OMe M Ios SiON 


BOND ISSUES IN MEMPHIS 


By C. C. PASHBY, Crry CurrK 


HE position of Memphis is almost unique 
in the history of its bonded indebtedness 
as the same stands in relation to public 
improvements. 

At the beginning of the present century, aside 
from a small indebtedness for school buildings 
secured by a mortgage on the school properties 
and a market house issue, payable out of the 
earnings of that institution, there were but ap- 
proximately $3,000,000 of general liability bonds 
outstanding. 

Those general liability bonds could not be 
allocated to any improvements then existing. 
They had come down from a period of weird 
financing three decades earlier, through a Fed- 
eral receivership, a surrender of the city charter, 
litigation, compromises, funding and refunding 
of judgments, old bonds, open accounts, ete. 


It was not until the 1909 session of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of the state that any new general 
liability bonds for improvements were author- 
ized. A small issue of $250,000 of park bonds, 
secured by a blanket mortgage on several parks, 
had been put out in 1901, but these are declared 
in terms to be not a general liability. The water 
bonds of 1903 were also secured by a mortgage. 

It will thus be seen that a reason existed for 
the rather belated program of public improve- 
-ment, except those which were paid for by a 
direct tax levy. 


In 1907 there was enacted the special assess- 
ment law, which, in brief, required that a peti- 
tion by 60% of the frontage affected be a pre- 
requisite to the passage of an improvement 
ordinance. 

Owing to the difficulty of securing petitions 
for the most needed improvements and the fur- 
ther difficulty of establishing the authenticity 
and validity of signatures, the procedure was 
changed in 1909 by giving the city the initiative 
in making the improvement and by validating 
all prior proceedings, although the rights as to 
hearings and protests were continued. 

Under the altered conditions the bonds sold 


1 Ss 


against the deferred payments of the abutting 
property and running one to five years have 
found a ready market. 

The 1909 Legislature authorized $1,000,000 of 
bonds for public work (approximately $140,000 
going to fund an overdraft), and of which $425,- 
000 was sold in 1909 and $575,000 in 1910. 

In 1911 an issue of $750,000 was authorized 
and sold for streets, sewers and the separation 
of grades of streets and railways; $250,000 was 
allocated to grade separation work, and about 
$500,000 to the city’s share of street improve- 
ments. 

In 1919 $200,000 was authorized and sold for 
improvements, divided between the city’s share 
of front foot assessment work, general street 
improvement and sewers and drains. 

In 1921 hospital bonds in the amount of $250,- 
000 were authorized and have since been sold. 

In 1921, $250,000 of bonds were authorized to 
be issued by the city and an equal amount by 
Shelby County to develop the Tri-State Fair 
Grounds for amusement and fair purposes. 
Both of these issues have been sold. 

In 1921 there was an authorization of $1,750,- 
000, of which there has been sold $1,745,000, 
being allocated as follows: 


SLCC tse epee, eee oe ee $1,199,000 
398,000 
148,000 


In 1923 there was authorized $750,000, of 
which $650,000 has been sold, being allocated: 


mtreets under front foot.......... $450,000 
Streets not under front foot....... 50,000 
DeNVe PSs aMCCGPaIN Sen we Syne cee. 200,000 


Of a funding and improvement issue author- 
ized in 1917, $483,000 has been sold, being al- 
located : 


Hipeteduipimiernianns.<ica2ce horse « $ 31,000 
Mississippi River bridge approach. 25,000 
(rPaderseDArAatlOiG wi te-pa cae eee: tees 88,500 
Hronte boot WOrk waiaciee crac aac 6 36,500 
Raigintemoverd ral (lem e eae 302,000 

{ 145 ] 


YL ING AN 1b IY Vy TE) CO) LRM "Lh 


=} & ‘ j 
ratme aoe g— - 
¥ ete tae mms beg 


 ersereretetiing Rriernniercaiaarais ate 


¥4) &o 


PRO bro nccns: 0s etic aisle 


Sean 


Sana SH 
CRT PAR AYU Hoe HOLM 
= fei ck 


The Post Office from Cossitt Library. 


[ 146 ] 


Gr Mb he 


Pb, FAY ANE ON all ONE (6, 


CeO me Ma Mist ss Sis Saela OmeN 


The city has shared with the County of Shelby 
in constructing and maintaining an auditorium 
and market and a tuberculosis sanitarium, both 
of which have required bond issues in the aggre- 
gate to date of $1,800,000, while an additional 
$100,000 was authorized by both the city and 
Shelby County for additions to the hospital. 

In 1923 the city was authorized to issue $150,- 
000 of bonds for an addition to the Cossitt 
Library, a quasi public institution endowed but 
supported by a special tax levy. These bonds 
are to be retired out of the revenues of the 
Library. 

In the development of parks and recreation 
facilities the city has issued $1,273,000. 

In the development of transportation facilities 
$1,000,000 of bonds for river-rail terminals have 
been issued. 

There have been certain amendments to the 
front foot assessment laws, but the fundamental 
principles of its financing have remained. Cau- 
tion has been learned through experience in 
overestimating the bond-retiring capacity of the 
streets when assessed. 

During 1915 and 1916 deficits had accumu- 
lated until it was necessary to refund $745,000 
of bonds sold against the owners’ share of the 
cost of improvements. These deficits were caused 
by including in bills of cost items which could 
not be collected, exemptions for legal causes, 
and the fact that less interest was collected from 
owners than was required to earry the outstand- 
ing bonds. 

In fact, the shrinkage is such that instead of 
a nominal division of 33 1/3% and 66 2/3%, as 
between city and owners, the actual amount re- 
-covered from the owners is scarcely more than 
59% of the vouchered cost of the improvement ; 
and it has been found safe to bond no more than 
the closely estimated voucher cost of the streets, 
although a statutory 10% has been authorized 
to cover the city’s expense not strictly allocated 
to specific improvements. 

There have been issued since 1908 one Series 
‘*A’’ of certificates and thirteen series of bonds, 
all aggregating $4,115,500. 

Of these $745,000 were refunded into general 
liability serial bonds, which are being liquidated 
and will disappear in 1928. Two million five 
hundred and twelve thousand and five hundred 
dollars have been retired, leaving on September 
2, 1928, $858,000. 


On September 2, 1923, the gross bonded debt 
of the city was $23,221,200. This debt can be 
classified somewhat as follows: 


City Planning Project Bonds: 


Amusement and recreation........ $1,123,000 

Transportation—River terminal ... 990,000 

MLE COLSe yea (at Rel ie es ae 4,115,500 
City Sasliavem ate ee $3,257,500 


Owners’ share ....... 858,000 
DEwers alg-Gratnis 3 mon eee ee 616,000 
iH TOOCPDIOVENLOL lenis a setae eae. 1,500,000 


Gr adeuseparatiOneuswseene eich oee 486,500 
ub icebuil dines japanese ae ee oy, 890,000 
Dridgenapproach se eee 25,000 

Total Plannino Projects... - $9,746,000 


This leaves issues not so closely related to 
City Planning for various purposes: 


sehools and Normal ......-..<. $ 4,263,000 
WATER WOLKS erat, coc set oe, eter 5,040,000 
ROUCOsstaliON a. 5. at 8 ce 260,000 
Generals H ospitalion. 2.41. ontsacancre: 250,000 
HU PES ta LIOLI Steen y) oe. ket: ae ek ees 100,000 
Oldsivarikcetareer ek aes wbete eee 20,000 
PUuTee ec ip eita yew ter eae 31,000 
Rerum dia Ov ISSilesme apes, ams oes 3,011,200 

Ota eae Ses Seen ereR een as 613.470, 200 


There can be no hard and fast rule set down 
to govern the financing of public improvements. 
In a general way it is considered safe practice 
if the bonded indebtedness (after allowing for 
sinking funds in hand and after deducting those 
bonds that are self-liquidating—bonds issued for 
self-supporting monopolies) is not in excess of 
10% of assessed values as assessments are gen- 
erally made in our cities. 


It is generally recognized as questionable to 
issue bonds running longer than the life of the 
improvement they make possible; however, there 
have been some gravel streets built in Memphis 
with 35-year bonds, and it was undoubtedly good 
economy at the time. 

Over a long period of years there will be on 
an average approximately as many bonds retired 
each year as there are issued. Each issue is jus- 
tified by the assumption that the improvement 
will be worth as much to the community as the 
principal plus the charge for its use while the 
issue is outstanding. The interest charge, and 


[147] 


Fae Neale 


RESP OORT. 


ultimately the principal as well, is taken out of 
the year-to-year earnings or income of the com- 
munity, and finally the investment belongs to 
the community, subject to depreciation, obso- 
lescence, ete. 

It is generally recognized that a community 
should not thus anticipate its earnings beyond 
the point which will require, say, 20% to 25% 
of its revenues for interest on the debt and the 
annual maturities of principal. 

Every community exercises judgment in these 
matters, weighing the values of proposed proj- 
ects and determining the relation of the load 
imposed to the ability of the community to 
carry it. 

It is probable that the total wealth of Mem- 
phis is, on a fair appraisal, $300,000,000, and 
this is increasing more than $20,000,000 per 
year. The annual income of the community is 
approximately $90,000,000. Roughly, 5% of 
this income, or about $4,500,000, is taken for 


[ 148 J 


various city purposes, and of this approximately 
one-fourth, or 25%, of the total income is being 
used for debt service, i.e., for interest and sink- 
ing fund requirements. This showing compares 
very favorably with conditions in other cities 
and with the country at large. 

It is frequently stated that about one-sixth of 
the total income of the country is being used to 
support government in the proportion of ap- 
proximately $380, $5 and $50, respectively, per 
eapita for city, state and national governments. 

It appears that Memphis is well within econ- 
servative limits and ean afford a further expan- 
sion of well-chosen permanent improvements to 
be undertaken at the rate of about $1,000,000 
per year, in addition to self-supporting enter- 
prises and also in addition to special assessment 
work. 

This can be done without increasing the per 
capita bonded debt and without increasing the 
ratio of debt to assessed values. 


Galery, ae eee AN Ne Lee NS Gy Ce OSieMores= Ss. lO UN 


>= 


APPENDICES 


A—City PLANNING AcT 

B—Zonine Act 

C—APPROVAL OF SUBDIVISION ACT 
D—Buiitpine LINE Act 

E—Crity PLANNING CoMMISSION ORDINANCE 
F'—ZoNING ORDINANCE 


G—-RvuLEs ror LAND SUBDIVISION 


[149 ] 


Balen ASE RrESh SO PRL 


Applies to 
Memphis 


Commission 


Ex Officio 
Members 


Term of 


Office 


Removal 
from Office 


Meetings 


Duties 


Co-operation 


[ 150] 


APPENDIX A 
CITY PLANNING LAW 
HOUSE BILL NO. 427—CHAPTER 162—PRIVATE ACTS: 1921 


AN ACT to empower all municipalities having a population in excess of one hundred 
and sixty thousand inhabitants by the Federal census of 1920, or by any subsequent 
Federal census, to provide for the establishment, government and maintenance of a 
City Planning Commission in such municipalities: 'To prescribe the powers and duties 
of such Planning Commission, and to vest in such commissions jurisdiction over all 
new subdivisions or re-subdivisions of land within the corporate limits of such 
municipalities. 


SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, 
that the legislative body of all incorporated municipalities having a population in 
excess of one hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants by the Federal census of 1920, 
or by any subsequent Federal census, are hereby authorized and empowered by ordi- 
nance, duly passed, to create City Planning Commissions for such municipalities. 


SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that such City Planning Commission 
shall consist of eight citizen members, to be appointed by the Mayor, subject to the 
approval of the legislative body of the municipality, and four members ex officio. 

The Commissioner of Streets, Bridges and Sewers, the Commissioner of Public 
Utilities, Grounds and Buildings, the Chairman of the Park Board and the City Engi- 
neer shall be ex officio members of the Commission, and, in addition, there shall be a 
Secretary, to be likewise appointed by the Mayor. The Secretary shall have custody 
of the books and records of the Commission, but he shall have no vote. The term of 
the Chairman shall be for one year, and he shall be elected by the City Planning Com- 
mission and shall hold office until his successor is elected. The citizen members of the 
Commission first appointed shall serve, respectively, two for one year, three for two 
years, and three for three years. Thereafter members shall be appointed for terms of 
three years each. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term only. 

All members may be removed at any time, by a majority vote of the legislative 
body of the municipality, for cause. The Secretary shall hold office at the will and 
pleasure of the Mayor. Neither the members of the Commission nor the Secretary 
shall receive compensation for their services, but allowances for actual expenses in 
connection with duties performed may be made. 


SECTION 3. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the members of the City Planning 
Commission shall meet, at least once a month, at such times and places as they may 
fix by resolution. Special meetings may be called, from time to time, by the Chairman. 
Five members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, for the transaction of busi- 
ness, The Commission shall cause proper record to be kept of its proceedings. 


SECTION 4. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that it shall be the duty of the City 
Planning Commission to collect data and to keep itself informed as to the best prac- 
tices, and the advancement made generally, in the art of City Planning, to the end 
that it may be qualified to act on matters that effect the present and future movement 
of traffic, the convenience, the safety of persons and property, the health, the recrea- 
tion and the general welfare and amenities and all other needs of the municipality, 
which are dependent upon the city plan. 


SECTION 5. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that it shall be the duty of all city 
departments to render assistance to the Planning Commission in the way of informa- 
tion, advice and co-operation. However, it is not intended to supplant nor impair the 
power of any existing board, bureau or commission, already in existence and operating 
under charter provisions and ordinances, except that matters coming within the purview 
of the Planning Commission shall be referred to that body, to the end that there shall 
be a proper correlation of thought and the furtherance of comprehensive plans for all 
betterments carried out by the city. 


Caley 


meee Nee Ni Lae Gr Gr OFM Mere Ss Sale ON 


Plans and 
Maps 


Recommenda- 
tions 


Improvements 
to be approved 


New subdivision 
submitted for 
- approval 


Sewers, Water 
and Gas Mains 


May employ 
architects, 
engineers and 
clerical help 


SECTION 6. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that it shall be within the further 
powers and dealings of the Commission to make plans and maps of the whole or any 
portion of the municipality or any land outside of the municipality, which, in the opin- 
ion of the Commission, bears a relation to the planning of the municipality, and to 
make changes in such plans or maps when it deems same advisable. Such plans shall 
show the Commission’s recommendations for any streets, alleys, ways, viaducts, bridges, 
subways, railroads, terminals, transit lines, parkways, parks, playgrounds or any other 
public grounds or public improvements, and the removal, relocation, widening or exten- 
sion of such public work then existing. The Commission shall have authority to recom- 
mend provisions for the preservation and care of historical landmarks, control in the 
manner provided by ordinance, the design and location of statuary, and other works 
of art which are, or may become, the property of the municipality, and the removal, 
relocation and alteration of such works belonging to the municipality and the design 
and location of harbors, bridges, viaducts, street fixtures and other public structures 
and appurtenances. 


SECTION 7. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that whenever the Legislative body of 
the municipality shall have adopted a city plan recommended by the City Planning 
Commission, no public buildings, streets, alleys, ways, viaducts, bridges, subways, rail- 
roads, terminals, transit lines, parkways, parks, playgrounds or any other public grounds 
or public improvement or part thereof, shall be constructed until and unless the loca- 
tion thereof shall be approved by the City Planning Commission; provided, however, 
that in case of its disapproval, the City Planning Commission shall communicate its 
reasons for disapproval to the legislative body of the municipality, and thereupon, by 
majority vote of such legislative body, it shall have the power of overruling such dis- 
approval. The widening, narrowing, ornamentation, vacancies, or change in the use of 
streets and other public ways, public grounds or other public improvements, appearing 
on the adopted plan, shall be subject to similar approval by the Planning Commission 
and upon disapproval by the Planning Commission may be similarly overruled. The 
Planning Commission may make recommendations to any public authorities, or to any 
corporations or individuals in such municipality, or in the territory contiguous thereto, 
concerning relocation of any building, structures or works to be erected or constructed 
by them. 


SECTION 8. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that all plans, plots or replots of lands 
laid out in building lots, into streets, alleys or other portions of the same, intended to 
be dedicated to public use, or for the use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting on 
or adjoining, and located within the corporate limits of the municipality, shall be sub- 
mitted to the City Planning Commission for approval; provided, however, that in case 
of its disapproval, the City Planning Commission shall communicate its reasons for 
disapproval to the legislative body of the municipality, and thereupon, by majority 
vote of such legislative body, it shall have the power of overruling such disapproval. 


The approval of the City Planning Commission or legislative body shall be deemed 
an acceptance of the proposed dedication, but this shall not impose any duty upon the 
municipality, concerning the maintenance or improvement of such dedicated parts, 
until the proper municipal authority shall have made an actual appropriation of same, 
by entry, use or improvement. 


No sewer, water or gaS main, or pipes or other improvements, shall be voted or 
made, nor shall any public money be expended for the benefit of any such purchaser or 
owner; nor shall any permit for connection with, or other use of any such improvement 
existing, or for any other reason, be given to any such purchasers or owners until such 
plan is so approved by the City Planning Commission or legislative body. 


No sewer, water or gas main or pipe or other improvements shall be voted or made, 
nor shall any public money be expended within any lands laid out in building lots, 
streets and alleys, until the plan, plot or replot of such lands shall have been approved 
by the City Planning Commission or legislative body. 


SECTION 9. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the City Planning Commission 
shall have power to control, appoint or employ such architects, engineers, and other 
professional services, and to appoint such clerks, draftsmen, and other subordinates as 
it shall deem necessary, for the performance of its functions, the expenditures for such 
service and employment to be within the amounts appropriated for the use of the City 
Planning Commission. 


[151] 


Fol oNnr ack R2EGR.O ORS 


Annual report 


[ 152 ] 


SECTION 10. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the City Planning Commission 
shall make to the legislative body of the municipality an annual report, giving a resume 
of its work during the preceding year. In such report it shall also make recommenda- 
tions as to future projects to be undertaken, and, from time to time, they shall also 
make like recommendations for public improvements which, in its judgment, should 
be undertaken. 


SECTION 11. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that should any section hereof be 
declared unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such holdings shall not 
invalidate the remaining sections hereof, but they shall remain in full force and effect. 


SECTION 12. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that this act shall take effect from 
and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it. 


Cela ii y Pa eae NaN eN® G COM MISS. )b.0 -N 


APPENDIX B 


ZONING LAW 
HOUSE BILL NO. 124—CHAPTER NO. 165—PRIVATE ACTS: 1921 


AN ACT to empower all municipalities having a population in excess of one hun- 
dred and sixty thousand inhabitants by the Federal census of 1920, or by any subse- 
quent Federal census, to provide for the establishment of districts or zones within the 
corporate limits, and to empower such municipalities, by ordinance, to regulate within 
such zones or districts the use or uses of land, the height, the area, the size and the 
location of buildings, the required open spaces for the light and ventilation of such 
buildings and the density of population; to provide for a board of appeals, and for the 
carrying out of such ordinances, and to provide a penalty for the violation thereof. 


Applies to SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, 
Memphis that the legislative body of all municipalities having a population in excess of one 

hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants by the Federal census of 1920, or by any sub- 
sequent Federal census, may regulate and restrict, by ordinance, the location of trades 
and industries and the location of buildings designed for specified uses, and, for said 
purposes, divide the municipality into districts of such number, shape and area as may 
be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes of this section. 


Barbs For each of such districts, regulations may be imposed by ordinance, designating 
District h f hich buildi ; 3 , be 
Ronan the uses for whic uildings may or may not be erected or altered, and designating 

9 the trades and industries that shall be excluded or subjected to special regulations. 


Such regulations shall be in accordance with a plan designed to lessen congestion on 
the public streets, to promote the public health, safety, convenience and general wel- 
fare, and shall be made with reasonable consideration, among other things, to the 
character of the district, its peculiar suitability for particular uses, the conservation 
of property values, and the direction of building development. 


SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that such legislative hody may regulate 
by ordinance and limit the height, the bulk of buildings hereafter erected or altered, 
and regulate and determine the percentage of land area to be devoted to yards, courts, 
and other open spaces, and, for said purposes, divide the municipality into districts of 
such number, shape and area as may be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes 
of this section. Such regulations shall be uniform for each class of buildings through- 
out each district, but the regulations in one or more districts may differ from those in 
other districts. 


Such regulations shall be designed to lessen congestion on the public streets, to 
secure safety from fire and other dangers, to promote the public health and welfare, 
including provisions for adequate light, air and convenience of access, and shall be 
made with reasonable regard to the character of buildings erected in each district, the 
value of land and the use to which it may be put, to the end that such regulations will 
promote the public health, safety and welfare, the most desirable use for which the 
land of each district may be adapted, and tend to conserve the value of buildings and 
to stabilize the value of land throughout such districts. 


Dwelling and SECTION 3. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the legislative body of such munici- 
T t palities may, by ordinance, limit and restrict the maximum number of families which 

eer may be housed in dwellings or tenement houses hereafter erected or altered, and, for 
Houses said purposes, divide the municipality into districts of such number, shape and area 
as may be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes of this section. 


The regulations adopted for one or more districts may differ from those adopted 
for other districts. Such regulations shall be designed to limit the overcrowding of 
land and to avoid undue congestion of population, to facilitate adequate provision of 
transit, water, sewage disposal, education, recreation and other public requirements, 
and to promote the public health, morals, safety, convenience and general welfare. 


[ 153 ] 


dt Ne AYe ib Rita ORR aL 


District 
Boundaries 


Regulations, 
Adoption of 


Amendments 


Protests 


Administrative 
Board 


Buildings and 
lots, size of 


Lawful use of 
premises 


[ 154 ] 


SECTION 4. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that in a municipality having a city 
planning commission appointed pursuant to a statute or local charter or ordinance, 
the legislative body shall require such commission to recommend the boundaries or 
districts and appropriate regulations to be enforced therein. Such commission shall 
make a tentative report and hold public hearings thereon, at such times and places 
and upon such notice as said legislative body shall require, before submitting its final 
report. The legislative body shall not determine the boundaries of any district, nor 
impose any regulations until after the final report of such city planning commission. 

After such final report is submitted to the legislative body, and final adoption of 
regulations by ordinance, the legislative body may, from time to time, amend, supple- 
ment or change by ordinance the boundaries or regulations so adopted. Notice of the 
adoption of such amendment, supplement or change in the ordinance shall be given by 
publishing such notice three (3) times in some daily newspaper of general circulation 
in such municipality. Such notice shall state the time and place, not earlier than ten 
days from the last date of such publication, at which the legislative body of such 
municipality shall meet, to hear remonstrances or protests against the making of such 
amendment, supplement or change. 

At the time and place thus appointed, the legislative body shall meet and all per- 
sons whose property will be affected by such amendment, supplement or change, may 
appear in person, or by attorney or by petition, and protest against making of such 
amendment, supplement or change, and after hearing such protests, if any, said legis- 
lative body may confirm, modify or rescind such ordinance in whole or in part. 

If, however, a protest against such amendment, supplement or change be presented 
in writing to the City Clerk, within ten days from date of last publication, duly signed 
and acknowledged by the owners of 20% or more of any frontage proposed to be 
altered, or by the owners of 20% of the frontage immediately in the rear thereof, or 
by the owners of 20% of the frontage directly opposite the frontage proposed to be 
altered, such amendment, supplement or change shall not be passed except by a four- 
fifths vote of the legislative body. 


SECTION 5. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the legislative body may create an 
administrative board to administer the details of the applications of the ordinance and 
regulations, and may delegate to such board, in accordance with provisions set forth 
in the regulations, the power to hear and determine appeals from the refusal of building 
permits by building commissioners or other officers and to exercise jurisdictional pow- 
ers with respect to the administration of the regulations as specified therein; or these 
administrative powers and functions may be delegated by the legislative body to the 
city planning commission. 


SECTION 6. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that wherever the provisions of any 
ordinance or regulation adopted by the legislative body under the provisions of this 
act impose requirements for lower height of buildings, or a less percentage of a lot that 
may be occupied, or require wider or larger courts or deeper yards than are imposed 
or required by existing provision of law or ordinance, the provision of this act shall 
govern. Where, however, the provisions of the building code or other ordinance or 
regulation of any municipality impose requirements for lower height of buildings, or 
less percentage of lot that may be occupied, or require wider or larger courts or deeper 
yards than are required by any ordinance or regulation which may be adopted by the 
legislative body under the provision of this act, the provision of said building code or 
other ordinance or regulation shall govern. 


SECTION 7. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the lawful use of a building exist- 
ing at the time of adoption of an ordinance under the provisions of this act, although 
such use does not conform to the provisions of such ordinance, may be extended 
throughout the building, provided no structural alterations, except those required by 
law or ordinance, are made therein. 

Where no structural alterations are made in a building of a non-conforming use, 
such use may be changed to a use of a similar or higher classification, according to the 
provisions of ordinances and regulations adopted under the authority of this act. 

The lawful use of a premises existing at the time of adoption of an ordinance under 
the provisions of this act, although such use does not conform to the provisions of such 
ordinance, may be continued; but if such non-conforming use is discontinued, any 
future use of said premises shall be in conformity with the provisions of ordinances 
and regulations adopted under the authority of this act. 


Gi Whe ARs NG Fp oe Aan NeeN © LeeNGG Ce OUMEM  ErSsS oO N 


Change in 
Buildings 


Building 
Permits 


Where structural alterations are made in a building of non-conforming use, such 
building shall be changed in conformity with the provisions of ordinances and regula- 
tions adopted under the authority of this act for the district in which such building 
is located. 

When the boundary line of any use district divides a parcel of ground in common 
ownership, at the time of the adoption of the ordinance, under the provisions of this 
act, nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the extension of the use existing on 
either portion of such parcel of ground to the entire parcel, but for a distance of not 
greater than twenty-five (25) feet. 

Nothing in this act shall be taken to prevent: (a) the erection of a building for 
which a permit shall have been issued previous to the passage of an ordinance under 
the provisions of this act; (b) the restoration of a building destroyed to the extent of 
not more than 75% of its reasonable value, by fire, explosion, an act of God, or the 
public enemy, and the occupancy or use of such building or part thereof, if such use 
existed at the time of such partial destruction; (c) the restoration of a wall declared 
unsafe by the Building Inspector. 


SECTION 8. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that should any section or provision of 
this act be held to be unconstitutional or invalid, the same shall not affect the validity 
of the act as a whole or any part thereof, other than the part so held to be uncon- 
stitutional. 


SECTION 9. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that this act shall take effect from and 
after its passage, the public welfare requiring it. 


[ 155 ] 


Bel oN ASL 


Re ESPROF RT 


APPENDIX C 


APPROVAL OF SUBDIVISIONS LAW 
HOUSE BILL NO. 425—CHAPTER 164, PRIVATE ACTS: 1921 


A BILL to be entitled, “An Act to provide for the 
approval by municipal authorities, before filing, and 
for the filing, of plans, plots or replots of lands lying 
in cities having a population of one hundred and 
sixty thousand (160,000) or over, according to the 
Federal census; to define the duties of County Reg- 
isters in counties in which such cities may be situ- 
ated, with reference to filing and recording plans, 
plots or replots of lands in such cities. 


To regulate the filing of plans, plots or replots of 
lands lying in such cities; and to make it a mis- 
demeanor in office for any County Register to vio- 
late the provisions of this Act. 


SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED by the General 
Assembly of the State of Tennessee, that in all cities 
having a population of one hundred and sixty thou- 
sand (160,000) or over, according to the Federal cen- 
sus of 1920, or any subsequent Federal census, all 
plans, plots or replots of land lying within the limits 
of such city, laid out in building lots, and streets, 
alleys, squares, parks, or other portions of same, in- 
tended to be dedicated to public use, or for the use 
of purchasers or owners of lots fronting upon any 
such square, park, street, alley or boulevard, or ad- 
jacent thereto, or lying or being within the boun- 
dary of the said tract or parcel of land, and located 
within the limits of any such city, shall be submitted 
to the Board of Commissioners, or other legislative 
body having general charge and supervision of the 
design, construction and maintenance of city streets; 
and all such plans, plots or replots shall be approved 
by such Board of Commissioners or other legislative 
body before they shall be tendered for record to the 
County Register. Said plans, plots or replots shall 
be examined by such Board with a view of ascer- 
taining whether such plans, plots or replots conform 
to the general laws relating to plots within the city, 
and that streets, alleys, boulevards, parks and public 
ways or places shall conform to the general plan of 
the city, and not conflict or interfere with rights-of- 
way of streets, or alleys, already established. If 
such plans, plots or replots shall conform to the laws 
of the state and ordinances of such city; and if they 


[ 156 j 


shall fall within the general plan for the extension 
of such city, regards being had for public streets, 
sewer connections, water service, and service of 
other utilities, then it shall be the duty of said 
Board, or other legislative body, to endorse its ap- 
proval upon the plan, plot or replot submitted to it. 


The approval of such Board, or other legislative 
body, shall be deemed an acceptance of the proposed 
dedication for public or private use, as the case may 
be; but shall not impose any duty upon the city con-. 
cerning the maintenance or improvement of any such 
dedicated parts until the proper authorities of the 
city shall have made actual appropriation of the 
same by entry, use or improvement, and owners and 
purchasers shall be deemed to have notice of the 
public plans, maps and reports of such Board or 
body having charge of the design, construction and 
maintenance of the city streets affecting such prop- 
erty within the jurisdiction of the cities of the class 
hereinbefore set out. 


SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
if any such plan, plot or replot of land is tendered 
for registration in the office of a County Register of 
any county in which any city of the above class may 
be situated, it shall be the duty of such County Reg- 
ister to examine such plan, plot or replot, to ascer- 
tain whether the endorsement of the Commissioners, 
or legislative body provided for in the next preced- 
ing section, shall appear thereon. If it shall, and the 
plan, plot or replot otherwise conforms to the pro- 
visions of law, he shall accept same for registration. 
If such endorsement does not appear thereon, the 
Register shall refuse and decline to accept such 
plan, plot or replot. Any failure to observe the pro- 
visions of this section on the part of any County 
Register shall constitute a misdemeanor in office. 


SECTION 8. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
all Acts or part of Acts in conflict with this Act be, 
and the same is hereby, repealed. 


SECTION 4. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
this Act take effect from and after its passage, the 
public welfare requiring it. 


Cele Teey 


PL AAaN, (Na raNe'G 


COs MaM TISs.S. TOS N 


APPENDIX D 


BUILDING LINE LAW 
HOUSE BILL NO, 1066—CHAPTER 415, PRIVATE ACTS: 1923 


A BILL to be entitled, “An Act to authorize and 
empower the municipalities in this state having a 
population in excess of 160,000 inhabitants under the 
Federal census of 1920, or any subsequent Federal 
census, to establish a building line or lines on any 
street in such municipality; to define the word 
‘street’; to fix the procedure for the establishment 
of such line or lines, and the rights of the owners 
of any property affected thereby to damages from 
such municipality, and to fix the measure thereof; 
and to limit the time within which such actions for 
damages shall be brought; and to provide for the 
widening of streets and the line or lines so estab- 
lished at the expiration of the time provided in such 
ordinance for the widening of such street; and to 
provide how such damages, when assessed, shall be 
paid by such municipalities.” 


SECTION 1. BE-IT ENACTED by the General 
Assembly of the State of Tennessee, that the word 
“street,” as used in this Act, shall mean any public 
highway, esplanade, boulevard, parkway, square or 
street, or any part or side, or part of side of any of 
the same, within the limits of any incorporated mu- 
nicipality having a population in excess of 160,000 
inhabitants by the Federal census of 1920, or by 
any subsequent Federal census. 


SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
it shall be lawful for any municipality having a 
population in excess of 160,000 inhabitants by the 
Federal census of 1920, or by any subsequent Fed- 
eral census, to provide by ordinance for the estab- 
lishment of a building line, or lines, on any street. 
After the establishment of any such line, or lines, 
no building or other structures shall be erected and 
no existing buildings reconstructed or repaired to 
the extent of more than seventy-five per cent of its 
value, and no building or other structure shall be 
re-erected, within the line or lines so established, 
except subject to the rights of the municipality ac- 
quired under any such building line ordinance. 


Such line or lines may be established on one or 
both sides of any street for the total length of any 
street or any part thereof. The ordinance establish- 
ing such line or lines shall set forth the name of the 
street and the part or parts thereof to which said 
line or lines shall apply, and shall provide that the 
owners of property abutting on said street within 
the part affected by such line, or lines, shall take 
notice of and be bound by the provisions of such 
ordinance. 


SECTION 3. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
upon the final passage of such ordinance the munici- 
pality passing the same shall be conclusively held to 
have taken an easement of way over all lands abut- 
ting the part or parts of the street to which such 
building line ordinance is applied, and the owners 
of such lands shall thereupon be entitled to all the 
benefits accruing to owners of lands or other prop- 
erty taken by the public for public use, under the 
laws of eminent domain of the State of Tennessee. 
No notice of the taking of such easement to the 
Owner of any property affected thereby shall be re- 
quired other than the passage of an ordinance in 
conformity with the charter provisions of any mu- 
nicipality passing such ordinance. Such ordinance 
shall also provide that at a future time to be therein 
specified, not later than twenty-five (25) years after 
the passage of such ordinance, the municipal cor- 
poration shall widen the street to the line or lines 
established in such ordinance; but between the time 
of the passage of such ordinance and the time fixed 
therein at which the street shall be widened to such 
a line, or lines, the owners of the lands over which 
the municipality has acquired the easement afore- 
said shall have the right to make any use of such 
land not inconsistent with the right of such munici- 
pality under its easement, or inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act, including the right to main- 


-tain upon such land any building, structure or ap- 


purtenances existing thereon at the time of the pas- 
sage of such ordinance. 


SECTION 4. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
the municipality passing such ordinance may pro- 
ceed to the assessment of damages to the owners of 
lands affected thereby under the law relating to 
eminent domain; and the owners of such land shall 
likewise have the right to institute in any court of 
competent jurisdiction their actions to have assessed 
the damages sustained by them; but no action shall 
be brought by any owner of property affected by 
such ordinance for damages by reason of the taking 
of such easement, unless the action shall have been 
brought within twelve months of the final passage of 
the ordinance establishing such line or lines; pro- 
vided, however, that this shall not apply to any per- 
son under disability whose right to bring an action 
is regulated or governed by any other Act or law of 
the State of Tennessee. 


The measure of damage for the taking of such 
easement under any such ordinance shall be the 
difference between the value of the land at the time 
of the taking, without the easement, and the value 


[ 157 ] 


1 1G Nha Ab 


Re 1d, 12) (6) Wah Ah 


of the land at the time of the taking, subject to the 
easement of the municipality acquiring it under the 
ordinance; provided, however, that should this pro- 
vision of this Act relating to the rule of the dam- 
ages be held invalid, that the owners of any prop- 
erty affected by the taking of such easement by the 
municipality shall be entitled to such damages as 
may be awarded them under the law of the land. 
Nothing herein contained shall be held to give any 
municipality passing an ordinance under the provi- 
sions hereof, any right, title or interest in or to any 
building or improvement now or hereafter erected 
on any land over which the city acquires the ease- 
ment hereinbefore provided for, or to the use or 
possession of any land within the line or lines so 
established until the acquisition of the land as here- 
inafter provided for. 


SECTION 5. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
at the end of the period designated in such ordinance 
the municipality passing it shall proceed to widen 
the street named therein, and to that end shall there- 
upon proceed to acquire by purchase, condemnation, 
or otherwise, the land necessary to be taken for such 
widening, and the owner thereof shall be entitled to 
such damages as he may then be entitled to under 
the law where private property is taken for public 
use. Such widening and improving shall be done 
under any law then existing relating to the widening 
and improving of any street in any such municipal- 
ity, and the cost thereof shall be borne in the man- 
ner then provided by law. 


SECTION 6. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
if, between the time of the passage of any such 
ordinance and the widening of such street under the 
ordinance, the owners of land abutting such build- 


[ 158 ] 


ing line, or lines, are damaged by the passage of 
such ordinance in any manner otherwise than by 
the taking of such easement in the land, each shall 
have a right of action against the municipality pass- 
ing such ordinance for any damages legally recover- 
able for such injury; provided, however, that any 
such action shall be brought within one year from 
the time it shall accrue, saving, however, to persons 
under any legal disability the right to bring such 
action within such time as may be provided by law. 


SECTION 7. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
damages for the easement taken or damages to any 
owner hereinbefore provided for, may be paid by the 
municipality out of any general or special fund 
which may be provided for that purpose under the 
general law of the State of Tennessee, or any char- 
ter provision of any such municipality. 


SECTION 8. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
this act shall not limit or abridge any power now or 
hereafter conferred by law on any municipality to 
establish building lines, whether under the police 
power, by eminent domain, or otherwise. 


SECTION 9. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
if any section, clause, paragraph, or part thereof, 
shall be held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such 
invalid part shall not affect the validity of the bal- 
ance of the Act, as this Act would have been passed 
by the General Assembly, notwithstanding that such 
invalid part is elided. 


SECTION 10. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
this Act take effect from and after its passage, the 
public welfare requiring it. 


Cale lary: 


Py LaAeN Ne Leen G 


CEOR MEMES Sob OPN 


APPENDIX E 
CITY PLANNING ORDINANCE 


TO PROVIDE for the establishment of a City 
Planning Commission under the provisions of Chap- 
ter 162 of the Private Acts of the General Assembly 
of the State of Tennessee for the year 1921; to pre- 
scribe the powers and duties of such Commission; 
and vest in such Commission jurisdiction over all 
new subdivisions or resubdivisions of land within the 
corporate limits of the City of Memphis. 


SECTION 1. Be it ordained by the Board of Com- 
missioners of the City of Memphis, that there shall 
be and is hereby created a City Planning Commis- 
sion for and in the City of Memphis. 


SECTION 2. Be it further ordained, that such 
City Planning Commission shall consist of eight citi- 
zen members, to be appointed by the Mayor, subject 
to the approval of the Board of Commissioners, and 
four members ex officio. The Commissioner of 
Streets, Bridges and Sewers, the Commissioner of 
Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings, the Chair- 
man of the Park Board and the City Engineer shall 
be ex officio members of the Planning Commission, 
and, in addition, there shall be a secretary, to be 
likewise appointed by the Mayor. The secretary 
shall have custody of the books and records of the 
Commission, but he shall have no vote. The term 
of the chairman shall be for one year, and he shall 
be elected by the Planning Commission and shall 
hold office until his successor is elected. 


The citizen members of the Planning Commission 
first appointed shall serve, respectively, two for one 
year, three for two years, and three for three years, 
computed from January 1, 1921. Thereafter mem- 
bers shall be appointed for terms of three years 
each. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment for 
the unexpired term only. All members may be re- 
moved at any time, by a majority vote of the Board 
of Commissioners, for cause. The secretary shall 
hold office at the will and pleasure of the Mayor. 
Neither the members of the Planning Commission 
nor the secretary shall receive compensation for 
their services, but allowances for actual expenses in 
connection with duties performed may be made. 


SECTION 3. Be it further ordained, that the 
members of the Planning Commission shall meet at 
least once a month at such times and places as they 
may fix by resolution. Special meetings may be 
called, from time to time, by the chairman. Five 
members of the Planning Commission shall consti- 
tute a quorum for the transaction of business. The 
Planning Commission shall cause proper record to 
be kept of its proceedings. 


SECTION 4. Be it further ordained, that it shall 
be the duty of the Planning Commission to collect 
data and to keep itself informed as to the best prac- 
tices, and the advancement made generally, in the 
art of city planning, to the end that it may be quali- 
fied to act on matters that affect the present and 
future movements of traffic, the convenience, the 
safety of persons and property, the health, the rec- 
reation and the general welfare and amenities and 
all other needs of the municipality, which are de- 
pendent upon the city plan. 


SECTION 5. Bt it further ordained, that it shall 
be the duty of all city departments to render assist- 
ance to the Planning Commission in the way of in- 
formation, advice and co-operation. However, it is 
not intended to supplant nor impair the power of 
any existing board, bureau or commission already in 
existence and operating under charter provisions and 
ordinances, except that matters coming within the 
purview of the Planning Commission shall be re- 
ferred to that body, to the end that there shall be 
a proper correlation of thought and the furtherance 
of comprehensive plans for all betterments carried 
out by the city. 


SECTION 6. Be it further ordained, that it shall 
be within the further powers and duties of the Plan- 
ning Commission to make plans and maps of the 
whole or any portion of the municipality, or any land 
outside of the municipality which, in the opinion of 
the Commission, bears a relation to the planning of 
the municipality, and to make changes in such plans 
or maps when it deems same advisable. Such plans 
shall show the Planning Commission’s recommenda: 
tions for any streets, alleys, ways, viaducts, bridges, 
subways, railroads, terminals, transit lines, park- 
ways, parks, playgrounds, or any other public grounds 
or public improvements, and the removal, relocation, 
widening or extension of such public work then 
existing. The Planning Commission shall have au- 
thority to recommend provisions for the preservation 
and care of historical landmarks, control in the man- 
ner provided by ordinance the design and location of 
statuary and other works of art which are, or may 
become, the property of the municipality, and the 
removal, relocation and alteration of such works be- 
longing to the municipality, and the design and loca- 
tion of harbors, bridges, viaducts, street fixtures and 
other public structures and appurtenances. 


SECTION 7. Be it further ordained, that when- 
ever the Board of Commissioners shall have adopted 
a city plan recommended by the Planning Commis- 
sion, no public buildings, streets, alleys, ways, via- 


[ 159 J 


FINGAL 


RECs Oenee 


a = 


ducts, bridges, subways, railroads, terminals, transit 
lines, parkways, parks, playgrounds, or any other 
public grounds or public improvements, or part there- 
of, shall be constructed until and unless the location 
thereof shall be approved by the Planning Commis- 
sion; provided, however, that in case of its disap 
proval, the Planning Commission shall communicate 
its reasons for disapproval to the Board of Commis- 
sioners, and thereupon, by majority vote of the 
Board of Commissioners, it shall have the power of 
overruling such disapproval. The widening, narrow- 
ing, ornamentation, vacancies, or change in the use 
of streets and other public ways, public grounds or 
other public improvements appearing on the adopted 
plan shall be subject to similar approval by the 
Planning Commission, and upon disapproval by the 
Planning Commission may be similarly overruled. 
The Planning Commission may make recommenda- 
tions to any public authorities or to any corporations 
or individuals in such municipality, or in the terri- 
tory contiguous thereto, concerning the relocation of 
any buildings, structures or works to be erected or 
constructed by them. 


SECTION 8. Be it further ordained, that all plans, 
plots or replots of lands laid out in building lots, 
into streets, alleys, or other portions of the same, 
intended to be dedicated to public use, or for the 
use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting on or 
adjoining and located within the corporate limits of 
the municipality, shall be submitted to the Planning 
Commission for approval; provided, however, that in 
case of its disapproval, the Planning Commission 
shall communicate its reasons for disapproval to the 
Board of Commissioners, and thereupon, by majority 
vote of the Board of Commissioners, it shall have 
the power of overruling such disapproval. 

The approval of the Planning Commission or the 
Board of Commissioners shall be deemed an accept- 
ance of the proposed dedication, but this shall not 
impose any duty upon the city concerning the main- 
tenance or improvement of such dedicated parts, 
until the Board of Commissioners shall have made 
an actual appropriation of same, by entry, use or 
improvement. 

No sewer, water or gas main or pipes, or other 
improvements, shall be voted or made, nor shall any 


{ 160 ] 


public money be expended for the benefit of any 
such purchaser or owner; nor shall any permit for 
connection with, or other use of any such improve- 
ment existing, or, for any other reason, be given to 
any such purchasers or owners until such plan is 
so approved by the Planning Commission or the 
Board of Commissioners. No sewer, water or gas 
main or pipe or other improvements shall be voted 
or made, nor shall any public money be expended 
within any lands laid out in building lots, streets 
and alleys, until the plan, plot or replot of such lands 
shall have been approved by the Planning Commis- 
sion or by the Board of Commissioners. 


SECTION 9. Be it further ordained, that the Plan- 
ning Commission shall have power to control, ap- 
point or employ such architects, engineers and other 
professional service, and to appoint such clerks, 
draftsmen and other subordinates as it shall deem 
necessary for the performance of its functions, the 
expenditures for such service and employment to be 
within the amounts appropriated for the use of the 
Planning Commission. 


» 

SECTION 10. Be it further ordained, that the 
Planning Commission shall make the Board of Com- 
missioners an annual report, giving a resume of its 
work during the preceding year. In such report it 
shall also make recommendations as to future proj- 
ects to be undertaken, and from time to time it 
shall also make like recommendations for public 
improvements which, in its judgment, should be 
undertaken. 


SECTION 11. Be it further ordained, that all or- 
dinances and parts of ordinances in conflict here- 
with are hereby repealed. 


SECTION 12. Be it further ordained, that this 
ordinance shall go into effect from and after its pas- 
sage, the public welfare requiring it. 


Passed March 29, 1921. 


Approved: 
ROWLETT PAINE, 
Mayor. 
Attest: 
CA CAPASHBYs 
City Clerk. 


a 


Oy UE Ab yg 


PaleAuNeN lf NeG 


CeO MOM eS” Sal Or N 


BOND ISSUES IN MEMPHIS 


By C. C. PASHBY, Crry CurrK 


HE position of Memphis is almost unique 
in the history of its bonded indebtedness 
as the same stands in relation to public 
improvements. 

At the beginning of the present century, aside 
from a small indebtedness for school buildings 
secured by a mortgage on the school properties 
and a market house issue, payable out of the 
earnings of that institution, there were but ap- 
proximately $3,000,000 of general liability bonds 
outstanding. 

Those general liability bonds could not be 
allocated to any improvements then existing. 
They had come down from a period of weird 
finaneing three decades earlier, through a Fed- 
eral receivership, a surrender of the city charter, 
litigation, compromises, funding and refunding 
of judgments, old bonds, open accounts, ete. 


It was not until the 1909 session of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of the state that any new general 
liability bonds for improvements were author- 
ized. A small issue of $250,000 of park bonds, 
secured by a blanket mortgage on several parks, 
had been put out in 1901, but these are declared 
in terms to be not a general liability. The water 
bonds of 1903 were also secured by a mortgage. 

It will thus be seen that a reason existed for 
the rather belated program of public improve- 
ment, except those which were paid for by a 
direct tax levy. 


In 1907 there was enacted the special assess- 
ment law, which, in brief, required that a peti- 
tion by 60% of the frontage affected be a pre- 
requisite to the passage of an improvement 
ordinance. 

Owing to the difficulty of securing petitions 
for the most needed improvements and the fur- 
ther difficulty of establishing the authenticity 
and validity of signatures, the procedure was 
changed in 1909 by giving the city the initiative 
in making the improvement and by validating 
all prior proceedings, although the rights as to 
hearings and protests were continued. 

Under the altered conditions the bonds sold 


e105. 


against the deferred payments of the abutting 
property and running one to five years have 
found a ready market. 

The 1909 Legislature authorized $1,000,000 of 
bonds for public work (approximately $140,000 
going to fund an overdraft), and of which $425,- 
000 was sold in 1909 and $575,000 in 1910. 

In 1911 an issue of $750,000 was authorized 
and sold for streets, sewers and the separation 
of grades of streets and railways; $250,000 was 
allocated to grade separation work, and about 
$500,000 to the city’s share of street improve- 
ments. 

In 1919 $200,000 was authorized and sold for 
improvements, divided between the city’s share 
of front foot assessment work, general street 
improvement and sewers and drains. 

In 1921 hospital bonds in the amount of $250,- 
000 were authorized and have since been sold. 

In 1921, $250,000 of bonds were authorized to 
be issued by the city and an equal amount by 
Shelby County to develop the Tri-State Fair 
Grounds for amusement and fair purposes. 
Both of these issues have been sold. 

In 1921 there was an authorization of $1,750,- 
000, of which there has been sold $1,745,000, 
being allocated as follows: 


SPV Fae cic Ree eae $1,199,000 
398,000 
148,000 


In 1923 there was authorized $750,000, of 
which $650,000 has been sold, being allocated: 


Streets under front i00t........<. $450,000 
Streets not under front foot....... 50,000 
Sewersranc. (rains aye aa ack: ot 200,000 


Of a funding and improvement issue author- 
ized in 1917, $483,000 has been sold, being al- 
located : 


MARE secu DUO Gee) waa eyes oe ot oe $ 31,000 


Mississippi River bridge approach. 25,000 
Gradessepard Ole tee aie eerar oe 88,500 
ronpRroote work sete oe eet ee 36,500 
Ranching yo verdraltsmane aac et 302,000 

{ 145 J 


FRI NGAG Ini da} es CO) ORY ah 


Sag or 


en 
age 


[ 146 ] 


SAAS aR RYT MN) | 
i a : ~- : 


fot sy 
5 a ee a 


hashed Hn wae 
PRU eciR tet vieys huycaoemtage 
ingieeeeein. ue re ee 


meerrenieminiet, innlnmpiey 


ee aad tin a: 


The Post Office from Cossitt 


Library. 


eis HES AB 
Mieeisieor AES CCP 


(Cr de dks 36 


Be Lee AN Ne LeeNeG: 


CHOSMEMaieSeS ela Oe N 


The city has shared with the County of Shelby 
in constructing and maintaining an auditorium 
and market and a tuberculosis sanitarium, both 
of which have required bond issues in the agegre- 
gate to date of $1,800,000, while an additional 
$100,000 was authorized by both the city and 
Shelby County for additions to the hospital. 

In 1923 the city was authorized to issue $150,- 
000 of bonds for an addition to the Cossitt 
Library, a quasi publie institution endowed but 
supported by a special tax levy. These bonds 
are to be retired out of the revenues of the 
Library. 

In the development of parks and recreation 
facilities the city has issued $1,273,000. 

In the development of transportation facilities 
$1,000,000 of bonds for river-rail terminals have 
been issued. 

There have been certain amendments to the 
front foot assessment laws, but the fundamental 
principles of its financing have remained. Cau- 
tion has been learned through experience in 
overestimating the bond-retiring capacity of the 
streets when assessed. 

During 1915 and 1916 deficits had aeccumu- 
lated until it was necessary to refund $745,000 
of bonds sold against the owners’ share of the 
cost of improvements. These deficits were caused 
by including in bills of cost items which could 
not be collected, exemptions for legal causes, 
and the fact that less interest was collected from 
owners than was required to carry the outstand- 
ing bonds. 

In fact, the shrinkage is such that instead of 
a nominal division of 33 1/3% and 66 2/3%, as 
between city and owners, the actual amount re- 
eovered from the owners is seareely more than 
55% of the vouchered cost of the improvement ; 
and it has been found safe to bond no more than 
the closely estimated voucher cost of the streets, 
although a statutory 10% has been authorized 
to cover the city’s expense not strictly allocated 
to specific improvements. 

There have been issued since 1908 one Series 
‘*A”’ of certificates and thirteen series of bonds, 
all aggregating $4,115,500. 

Of these $745,000 were refunded into general 
liability serial bonds, which are being liquidated 
and will disappear in 1928. Two million five 
hundred and twelve thousand and five hundred 
dollars have been retired, leaving on September 
2, 1923, $858,000. 


On September 2, 1923, the gross bonded debt 
of the city was $23,221,200. This debt can be 
classified somewhat as follows: 


City Planning Project Bonds: 


Amusement and recreation........$1,123,000 

Transportation—River terminal ... 990,000 

DLT CCiSta ew iag tee a ee te 4,115,500 
CALYsSe Shave seer $3,257,500 


Owners’ share ....... 858,000 
DOW Chet anC nc LalniG: waeraeeere ee oe 616,000 
Etoodepreventiona shes oe 1,500,000 


Grad easeparationmuste sea ene 486,500 
ube Dut aan een ae ee 890,000 
Dridseeapproaclie en tae he ete 25,000 

Total Planning Projects...... $9,746,000 


This leaves issues not so closely related to 
City Planning for various purposes: 


pcucolsrandsNoriialin eases. abe4.c00,000 
WWHAGer WOE KGa. cnet tye oO ie 5,040,000 
TOLIGERSLATION == qu asees hap eee 260,000 
Genera lr OSDi Aline. s rasan Ce 250,000 
HE EORCUA LION Somirran ie itt takes ts 100,000 


Oldgimarketar see sn eee se 20,000 . 


Jstiale; TeTORWAY O} ONO Rae veer eeonO Gere nae 31,000 
ELUNOILS MSSUCKINE tase os ee 3,011,200 
BLO Gal Mamet ecey Ce aint. ee Pee $13,475,200 


There can be no hard and fast rule set down 
to govern the financing of public improvements. 
In a general way it is considered safe practice 
if the bonded indebtedness (after allowing for 
sinking funds in hand and after deducting those 
bonds that are self-liquidating—bonds issued for 
self-supporting monopolies) is not in excess of 
10% of assessed values as assessments are gen- 
erally made in our cities. 


It is generally recognized as questionable to 
issue bonds running longer than the life of the 
improvement they make possible; however, there 
have been some gravel streets built in Memphis 
with 35-year bonds, and it was undoubtedly good 
economy at the time. 

Over a long period of years there will be on 
an average approximately as many bonds retired 
each year as there are issued. Each issue is jus- 
tified by the assumption that the improvement 
will be worth as much to the community as the 
principal plus the charge for its use while the 
issue is outstanding. The interest charge, and 


[ 147 ] 


FIgN AL 


REPRO ne 


ultimately the principal as well, is taken out of 
the year-to-year earnings or income of the com- 
munity, and finally the investment belongs to 
the community, subject to depreciation, obso- 
lescence, ete. 

It is generally recognized that a community 
should not thus anticipate its earnings beyond 
the point which will require, say, 20% to 25% 
of its revenues for interest on the debt and the 
annual maturities of principal. 

Every community exercises judgment in these 
matters, weighing the values of proposed proj- 
ects and determining the relation of the load 
imposed to the ability of the community to 
earry it. 

It is probable that the total wealth of Mem- 
phis is, on a fair appraisal, $300,000,000, and 
this is increasing more than $20,000,000 per 
year. The annual income of the community is 
approximately $90,000,000. Roughly, 5% of 
this income, or about $4,500,000, is taken for 


[148] 


various city purposes, and of this approximately 
one-fourth, or 25%, of the total income is being 
used for debt service, i.e., for interest and sink- 
ing fund requirements. This showing compares 
very favorably with conditions in other cities 
and with the country at large. 

It is frequently stated that about one-sixth of 
the total income of the country is being used to 
support government in the proportion of ap- 
proximately $30, $5 and $50, respectively, per 
capita for city, state and national governments. 

It appears that Memphis is well within con- 
servative limits and can afford a further expan- 
sion of well-chosen permanent improvements to 
be undertaken at the rate of about $1,000,000 
per year, in addition to self-supporting enter- 
prises and also in addition to special assessment 
work. 

This can be done without increasing the per 
capita bonded debt and without increasing the 
ratio of debt to assessed values. 


Cy Da Tey: 1) Ib BA IN INE IE NG; COR M eM Sia Se om lO me N 


= 


APPENDICES 


A—City PLANNING AcT 


B—ZonineG Act 


C—APPROVAL OF SUBDIVISION ACT 


D—Buitpine LINE Act 


K—City PLANNING COMMISSION ORDINANCE 


E—ZonING ORDINANCE 


G—-RvULEs ror LAND SUBDIVISION 


[ 149 ] 


J At INS a 1b R#E RAO gH YT 


Applies to 
Memphis 


Commission 
Ex Officio 
Members 
Term of 
Office 
Removal 


from Office 


Meetings 


Duties 


Co-operation 


[ 150 J 


APPENDIX A 
CITY PLANNING LAW 
HOUSE BILL NO. 427—CHAPTER 162—PRIVATE ACTS: 1921 


AN ACT to empower all municipalities having a population in excess of one hundred 
and sixty thousand inhabitants by the Federal census of 1920, or by any subsequent 
Federal census, to provide for the establishment, government and maintenance of a 
City Planning Commission in such municipalities: To prescribe the powers and duties 
of such Planning Commission, and to vest in such commissions jurisdiction over all 
new subdivisions or re-subdivisions of land within the corporate limits of such 
municipalities. 


SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, 
that the legislative body of all incorporated municipalities having a population in 
excess of one hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants by the Federal census of 1920, 
or by any subsequent Federal census, are hereby authorized and empowered by ordi- 
nance, duly passed, to create City Planning Commissions for such municipalities. 


SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that such City Planning Commission 
shall consist of eight citizen members, to be appointed by the Mayor, subject to the 
approval of the legislative body of the municipality, and four members ex officio. 

The Commissioner of Streets, Bridges and Sewers, the Commissioner of Public 
Utilities, Grounds and Buildings, the Chairman of the Park Board and the City Engi- 
neer shall be ex officio members of the Commission, and, in addition, there shall be a 
Secretary, to be likewise appointed by the Mayor. The Secretary shall have custody 
of the books and records of the Commission, but he shall have no vote. The term of 
the Chairman shall be for one year, and he shall be elected by the City Planning Com- 
mission and shall hold office until his successor is elected. The citizen members of the 
Commission first appointed shall serve, respectively, two for one year, three for two 
years, and three for three years. Thereafter members shall be appointed for terms of 
three years each. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term only. 

All members may be removed at any time, by a majority vote of the legislative 
body of the municipality, for cause. The Secretary shall hold office at the will and 
pleasure of the Mayor. Neither the members of the Commission nor the Secretary 
shall receive compensation for their services, but allowances for actual expenses in 
connection with duties performed may be made. 


SECTION 3. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the members of the City Planning 
Commission shall meet, at least once a month, at such times and places as they may 
fix by resolution. Special meetings may be called, from time to time, by the Chairman. 
Five members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, for the transaction of busi- 
ness. The Commission shall cause proper record to be kept of its proceedings. 


SECTION 4. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that it shall be the duty of the City 
Planning Commission to collect data and to keep itself informed as to the best prac- 
tices, and the advancement made generally, in the art of City Planning, to the end 
that it may be qualified to act on matters that effect the present and future movement 
of traffic, the convenience, the safety of persons and property, the health, the recrea- 
tion and the general welfare and amenities and all other needs of the municipality, 
which are dependent upon the city plan. 


SECTION 5. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that it shall be the duty of all city 
departments to render assistance to the Planning Commission in the way of informa- 


_ tion, advice and co-operation. However, it is not intended to supplant nor impair the 


power of any existing board, bureau or commission, already in existence and operating 
under charter provisions and ordinances, except that matters coming within the purview 
of the Planning Commission shall be referred to that body, to the end that there shall 
be a proper correlation of thought and the furtherance of comprehensive plans for all 
betterments carried out by the city. 


. 


(Er Mh ah we 


jee Abe Jee TNE AN) AL INE 6; ClOTM M-IeS"S"1°O2N 


Plans and 
Maps 


Recommenda- 
tions 


Improvements 
to be approved 


New subdivision 
submitted for 
-approval 


Sewers, Water 
and Gas Mains 


May employ 
architects, 
engineers and 
clerical help 


SECTION 6. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that it shall be within the further 
powers and dealings of the Commission to make plans and maps of the whole or any 
portion of the municipality or any land outside of the municipality, which, in the opin- 
ion of the Commission, bears a relation to the planning of the municipality, and to 
make changes in such plans or maps when it deems same advisable. Such plans shall 
show the Commission’s recommendations for any streets, alleys, ways, viaducts, bridges, 
subways, railroads, terminals, transit lines, parkways, parks, playgrounds or any other 
public grounds or public improvements, and the removal, relocation, widening or exten- 
sion of such public work then existing. The Commission shall have authority to recom- 
mend provisions for the preservation and care of historical landmarks, control in the 
manner provided by ordinance, the design and location of statuary, and other works 
of art which are, or may become, the property of the municipality, and the removal, 
relocation and alteration of such works belonging to the municipality and the design 
and location of harbors, bridges, viaducts, street fixtures and other public structures 
and appurtenances. 


SECTION 7. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that whenever the Legislative body of 
the municipality shall have adopted a city plan recommended by the City Planning 
Commission, no public buildings, streets, alleys, ways, viaducts, bridges, subways, rail- 
roads, terminals, transit lines, parkways, parks, playgrounds or any other public grounds 
or public improvement or part thereof, shall be constructed until and unless the loca- 
tion thereof shall be approved by the City Planning Commission; provided, however, 
that in case of its disapproval, the City Planning Commission shall communicate its 
reasons for disapproval to the legislative body of the municipality, and thereupon, by 
majority vote of such legislative body, it shall have the power of overruling such dis- 
approval. The widening, narrowing, ornamentation, vacancies, or change in the use of 
streets and other public ways, public grounds or other public improvements, appearing 
on the adopted plan, shall be subject to similar approval by the Planning Commission 
and upon disapproval by the Planning Commission may be similarly overruled. The 
Planning Commission may make recommendations to any public authorities, or to any 
corporations or individuals in such municipality, or in the territory contiguous thereto, 
concerning relocation of any building, structures or works to be erected or constructed 
by them. 


SECTION 8. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that all plans, plots or replots of lands 
laid out in building lots, into streets, alleys or other portions of the same, intended to 
be dedicated to public use, or for the use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting on 
or adjoining, and located within the corporate limits of the municipality, shall be sub- 
mitted to the City Planning Commission for approval; provided, however, that in case 
of its disapproval, the City Planning Commission shall communicate its reasons for 
disapproval to the legislative body of the municipality, and thereupon, by majority 
vote of such legislative body, it shall have the power of overruling such disapproval. 


The approval of the City Planning Commission or legislative body shall be deemed 
an acceptance of the proposed dedication, but this shall not impose any duty upon the 
municipality, concerning the maintenance or improvement of such dedicated parts, 
until the proper municipal authority shall have made an actual appropriation of same, 
by entry, use or improvement. 


No sewer, water or gas main, or pipes or other improvements, shall be voted or 
made, nor shall any public money be expended for the benefit of any such purchaser or 
owner; nor shall any permit for connection with, or other use of any such improvement 
existing, or for any other reason, be given to any such purchasers or owners until such 
plan is so approved by the City Planning Commission or legislative body. 


No sewer, water or gas main or pipe or other improvements shall be voted or made, 
nor shall any public money be expended within any lands laid out in building lots, 
streets and alleys, until the plan, plot or replot of such lands shall have been approved 
by the City Planning Commission or legislative body. 


SECTION 9. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the City Planning Commission 
shall have power to control, appoint or employ such architects, engineers, and other 
professional services, and to appoint such clerks, draftsmen, and other subordinates as 
it shall deem necessary, for the performance of its functions, the expenditures for such 
service and employment to be within the amounts appropriated for the use of the City 
Planning Commission. 


[ 151 ] 


FIN AL Reb PLO RT 


Annual report 


[ 152 ] 


SECTION 10. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the City Planning Commission 
shall make to the legislative body of the municipality an annual report, giving a resume 
of its work during the preceding year. In such report it shall also make recommenda- 
tions as to future projects to be undertaken, and, from time to time, they shall also 
make like recommendations for public improvements which, in its judgment, should 
be undertaken. 


SECTION 11. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that should any section hereof be 
declared unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such holdings shall not 
invalidate the remaining sections hereof, but they shall remain in full force and effect. 


SECTION 12. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that this act shall take effect from 
and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it. 


Cie Lae lee x ELLE awn: Neko N -G Ce OP Me M ITS Sol. OoN 


APPENDIX B 


ZONING LAW 
HOUSE BILL NO, 124—CHAPTER NO. 165—PRIVATE ACTS: 1921 


AN ACT to empower all municipalities having a population in excess of one hun- 
dred and sixty thousand inhabitants by the Federal census of 1920, or by any subse- 
quent Federal census, to provide for the establishment of districts or zones within the 
corporate limits, and to empower such municipalities, by ordinance, to regulate within 
such zones or districts the use or uses of land, the height, the area, the size and the 
location of buildings, the required open spaces for the light and ventilation of such 
buildings and the density of population; to provide for a board of appeals, and for the 
carrying out of such ordinances, and to provide a penalty for the violation thereof. 


Applies to SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, 
Memphis that the legislative body of all municipalities having a population in excess of one 

hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants by the Federal census of 1920, or by any sub- 
sequent Federal census, may regulate and restrict, by ordinance, the location of trades 
and industries and the location of buildings designed for specified uses, and, for said 
purposes, divide the municipality into districts of such number, shape and area as may 
be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes of this section. 


ee For each of such districts, regulations may be imposed by ordinance, designating 
District h ‘ch buildi : ; 
oiiaiione the uses for which buildings may or may not be erected or altered, and designating 

g the trades and industries that shall be excluded or subjected to special regulations. 


Such regulations shall be in accordance with a plan designed to lessen congestion on 
the public streets, to promote the public health, safety, convenience and general wel- 
fare, and shall be made with reasonable consideration, among other things, to the 
character of the district, its peculiar suitability for particular uses, the conservation 
of property values, and the direction of building development. 


SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that such legislative body may regulate 
by ordinance and limit the height, the buik of buildings hereafter erected or altered, 
and regulate and determine the percentage of land area to be devoted to yards, courts, 
and other open spaces, and, for said purposes, divide the municipality into districts of 
such number, shape and area as may be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes 
of this section. Such regulations shall be uniform for each class of buildings through- 
out each district, but the regulations in one or more districts may differ from those in 
other districts. 


Such regulations shall be designed to lessen congestion on the public streets, to 
secure safety from fire and other dangers, to promote the public health and welfare, 
including provisions for adequate light, air and convenience of access, and shall be 
made with reasonable regard to the character of buildings erected in each district, the 
value of land and the use to which it may be put, to the end that such regulations will 
promote the public health, safety and welfare, the most desirable use for which the 
land of each district may be adapted, and tend to conserve the value of buildings and 
to stabilize the value of land throughout such districts. 


Dwelling and SECTION 3. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the legislative body of such munici- 
Tenement palities may, by ordinance, limit and restrict the maximum number of families which 

may be housed in dwellings or tenement houses hereafter erected or altered, and, for 
Houses said purposes, divide the municipality into districts of such number, shape and area 
as may be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes of this section. 


The regulations adopted for one or more districts may differ from those adopted 
for other districts. Such regulations shall be designed to limit the overcrowding of 
land and to avoid undue congestion of population, to facilitate adequate provision of 
transit, water, sewage disposal, education, recreation and other public requirements, 
and to promote the public health, morals, safety, convenience and general welfare. 


[ 153 ] 


Bale Ne Ag Tae 1d) 12 @ Tay aD 


District 
Boundaries 


Regulations, 
Adoption of 


Amendments 


Protests 


Administrative 
Board 


Buildings and 
lots, size of 


Lawful use of 
premises 


[ 154 ] 


SECTION 4. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that in a municipality having a city 
planning commission appointed pursuant to a statute or local charter or ordinance, 
the legislative body shall require such commission to recommend the boundaries or 
districts and appropriate regulations to be enforced therein. Such commission shall 
make a tentative report and hold public hearings thereon, at such times and places 
and upon such notice as said legislative body shall require, before submitting its final 
report. The legislative body shall not determine the boundaries of any district, nor 
impose any regulations until after the final report of such city planning commission. 

After such final report is submitted to the legislative body, and final adoption of 
regulations by ordinance, the legislative body may, from time to time, amend, supple- 
ment or change by ordinance the boundaries or regulations so adopted. Notice of the 
adoption of such amendment, supplement or change in the ordinance shall be given by 
publishing such notice three (3) times in some daily newspaper of general circulation 
in such municipality. Such notice shall state the time and place, not earlier than ten 
days from the last date of such publication, at which the legislative body of such 
municipality shall meet, to hear remonstrances or protests against the making of such 
amendment, supplement or change. 

At the time and place thus appointed, the legislative body shall meet and all per- 
sons whose property will be affected by such amendment, supplement or change, may 
appear in person, or by attorney or by petition, and protest against making of such 
amendment, supplement or change, and after hearing such protests, if any, said legis- 
lative body may confirm, modify or rescind such ordinance in whole or in part. 

If, however, a protest against such amendment, supplement or change be presented 
in writing to the City Clerk, within ten days from date of last publication, duly signed 
and acknowledged by the owners of 20% or more of any frontage proposed to be 
altered, or by the owners of 20% of the frontage immediately in the rear thereof, or 
by the owners of 20% of the frontage directly opposite the frontage proposed to be 
altered, such amendment, supplement or change shall not be passed except by a four- 
fifths vote of the legislative body. 


SECTION 5. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the legislative body may create an 
administrative board to administer the details of the applications of the ordinance and 
regulations, and may delegate to such board, in accordance with provisions set forth 
in the regulations, the power to hear and determine appeals from the refusal of building 
permits by building commissioners or other officers and to exercise jurisdictional pow- 
ers with respect to the administration of the regulations as specified therein; or these 
administrative powers and functions may be delegated by the legislative body to the 
city planning commission. 


SECTION 6. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that wherever the provisions of any 
ordinance or regulation adopted by the legislative body under the provisions of this 
act impose requirements for lower height of buildings, or a less percentage of a lot that 
may be occupied, or require wider or larger courts or deeper yards than are imposed 
or required by existing provision of law or ordinance, the provision of this act shall 
govern. Where, however, the provisions of the building code or other ordinance or 
regulation of any municipality impose requirements for lower height of buildings, or 
less percentage of lot that may be occupied, or require wider or larger courts or deeper 
yards than are required by any ordinance or regulation which may be adopted by the 
legislative body under the provision of this act, the provision of said building code or 
other ordinance or regulation shall govern. 


SECTION 7. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that the lawful use of a building exist- 
ing at the time of adoption of an ordinance under the provisions of this act, although 
such use does not conform to the provisions of such ordinance, may be extended 
throughout the building, provided no structural alterations, except those required by 
law or ordinance, are made therein. 

Where no structural alterations are made in a building of a non-conforming use, 
such use may be changed to a use of a similar or higher classification, according to the 


_ provisions of ordinances and regulations adopted under the authority of this act. 


The lawful use of a premises existing at the time of adoption of an ordinance under 
the provisions of this act, although such use does not conform to the provisions of such 
ordinance, may be continued; but if such non-conforming use is discontinued, any 
future use of said premises shall be in conformity with the provisions of ordinances 
and regulations adopted under the authority of this act. 


(6) ab AW ON" Pre Aen Nt len. G CeOeMy Me has S415 O oN 


Change in 
Buildings 


Building 
Permits 


Where structural alterations are made in a building of non-conforming use, such 
building shall be changed in conformity with the provisions of ordinances and regula- 
tions adopted under the authority of this act for the district in which such building 
is located. 

When the boundary line of any use district divides a parcel of ground in common 
ownership, at the time of the adoption of the ordinance, under the provisions of this 
act, nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the extension of the use existing on 
either portion of such parcel of ground to the entire parcel, but for a distance of not 
greater than twenty-five (25) feet. 

Nothing in this act shall be taken to prevent: (a) the erection of a building for 
which a permit shall have been issued previous to the passage of an ordinance under 
the provisions of this act; (b) the restoration of a building destroyed to the extent of 
not more than 75% of its reasonable value, by fire, explosion, an act of God, or the 
public enemy, and the occupancy or use of such building or part thereof, if such use 
existed at the time of such partial destruction; (c) the restoration of a wall declared 
unsafe by the Building Inspector. 


SECTION 8. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that should any section or provision of 
this act be held to be unconstitutional or invalid, the same shall not affect the validity 
of the act as a whole or any part thereof, other than the part so held to be uncon- 
stitutional. 


SECTION 9. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that this act shall take effect from and 
after its passage, the public welfare requiring it. 


{ 155 ] 


LO INE AN ay 


Jay 1 de CO) Jay UE 


APPENDIX C 


APPROVAL OF SUBDIVISIONS LAW 
HOUSE BILL NO. 425—CHAPTER 164, PRIVATE ACTS: 1921 


A BILL to be entitled, “An Act to provide for the 
approval by municipal authorities, before filing, and 
for the filing, of plans, plots or replots of lands lying 
in cities having a population of one hundred and 
sixty thousand (160,000) or over, according to the 
Federal census; to define the duties of County Reg- 
isters in counties in which such cities may be situ- 
ated, with reference to filing and recording plans, 
plots or replots of lands in such cities. 


To regulate the filing of plans, plots or replots of 
lands lying in such cities; and to make it a mis- 
demeanor in office for any County Register to vio- 
late the provisions of this Act. 


SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED by the General 
Assembly of the State of Tennessee, that in all cities 
having a population of one hundred and sixty thou- 
sand (160,000) or over, according to the Federal cen- 
sus of 1920, or any subsequent Federal census, all 
plans, plots or replots of land lying within the limits 
of such city, laid out in building lots, and streets, 
alleys, squares, parks, or other portions of same, in- 
tended to be dedicated to public use, or for the use 
of purchasers or owners of lots fronting upon any 
such square, park, street, alley or boulevard, or ad- 
jacent thereto, or lying or being within the boun- 
dary of the said tract or parcel of land, and located 
within the limits of any such city, shall be submitted 
to the Board of Commissioners, or other legislative 
body having general charge and supervision of the 
design, construction and maintenance of city streets; 
and all such plans, plots or replots shall be approved 
by such Board of Commissioners or other legislative 
body before they shall be tendered for record to the 
County Register. Said plans, plots or replots shall 
be examined by such Board with a view of ascer- 
taining whether such plans, plots or replots conform 
to the general laws relating to plots within the city, 
and that streets, alleys, boulevards, parks and public 
ways or places shall conform to the general plan of 
the city, and not conflict or interfere with rights-of- 
way of streets, or alleys, already established. If 
such plans, plots or replots shall conform to the laws 
of the state and ordinances of such city; and if they 


[ 156 ] 


shall fall within the general plan for the extension 
of such city, regards being had for public streets, 
sewer connections, water service, and service of 
other utilities, then it shall be the duty of said 
Board, or other legislative body, to endorse its ap- 
proval upon the plan, plot or replot submitted to it. 


The approval of such Board, or other legislative 
body, shall be deemed an acceptance of the proposed 
dedication for public or private use, as the case may 
be; but shall not impose any duty upon the city con- 
cerning the maintenance or improvement of any such 
dedicated parts until the proper authorities of the 
city shall have made actual appropriation of the 
same by entry, use or improvement, and owners and 
purchasers shall be deemed to have notice of the 
public plans, maps and reports of such Board or 
body having charge of the design, construction and 
maintenance of the city streets affecting such prop- 
erty within the jurisdiction of the cities of the class 
hereinbefore set out. 


SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
if any such plan, plot or replot of land is tendered 
for registration in the office of a County Register of 
any county in which any city of the above class may 
be situated, it shall be the duty of such County Reg- 
ister to examine such plan, plot or replot, to ascer- 
tain whether the endorsement of the Commissioners, 
or legislative body provided for in the next preced- 
ing section, shall appear thereon. If it shall, and the 
plan, plot or replot otherwise conforms to the pro- 
visions of law, he shall accept same for registration. 
If such endorsement does not appear thereon, the 
Register shall refuse and decline to accept such 
plan, plot or replot. Any failure to observe the pro- 
visions of this section on the part of any County 
Register shall constitute a misdemeanor in office. 


SECTION 3. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
all Acts or part of Acts in conflict with this Act be, 
and the same is hereby, repealed. 


SECTION 4. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
this Act take effect from and after its passage, the 
public welfare requiring it. 


Cole bey, 


Pale ANGCN TENS G 


C2 Os Mem Is s°-S> iO) N 


APPENDIX D 


BUILDING LINE LAW 
HOUSE BILL NO, 1066—CHAPTER 415, PRIVATE ACTS: 1923 


A BILL to be entitled, “An Act to authorize and 
empower the municipalities in this state having a 
population in excess of 160,000 inhabitants under the 
federal census of 1920, or any subsequent Federal 
census, to establish a building line or lines on any 
street in such municipality; to define the word 
‘street’; to fix the procedure for the establishment 
of such line or lines, and the rights of the owners 
of any property affected thereby to damages from 
such municipality, and to fix the measure thereof; 
and to limit the time within which such actions for 
damages shall be brought; and to provide for the 
widening of streets and the line or lines so estab- 
lished at the expiration of the time provided in such 
ordinance for the widening of such street; and to 
provide how such damages, when assessed, shall be 
paid by such municipalities.” 


SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED by the General 
Assembly of the State of Tennessee, that the word 
“street,” as used in this Act, shall mean any public 
highway, esplanade, boulevard, parkway, square or 
street, or any part or side, or part of side of any of 
the same, within the limits of any incorporated mu- 
nicipality having a population in excess of 160,000 
inhabitants by the Federal census of 1920, or by 
any subsequent Federal census. 


SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
it shall be lawful for any municipality having a 
population in excess of 160,000 inhabitants by the 
Federal census of 1920, or by any subsequent Fed- 
eral census, to provide by ordinance for the estab- 
lishment of a building line, or lines, on any street. 
After the establishment of any such line, or lines, 
no building or other structures shall be erected and 
no existing buildings reconstructed or repaired to 
the extent of more than seventy-five per cent of its 
value, and no building or other structure shall be 
re-erected, within the line or lines so established, 
except subject to the rights of the municipality ac- 
quired under any such building line ordinance. 


Such line or lines may be established on one or 
both sides of any street for the total length of any 
street or any part thereof. The ordinance establish- 
ing such line or lines shall set forth the name of the 
street and the part or parts thereof to which said 
line or lines shall apply, and shall provide that the 
owners of property abutting on said street within 
the part affected by such line, or lines, shall take 
notice of and be bound by the provisions of such 
ordinance. 


SECTION 3. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
upon the final passage of such ordinance the munici- 
pality passing the same shall be conclusively held to 
have taken an easement of way over all lands abut- 
ting the part or parts of the street to which such 
building line ordinance is applied, and the owners 
of such lands shall thereupon be entitled to all the 
benefits accruing to owners of lands or other prop- 
erty taken by the public for public use, under the 
laws of eminent domain of the State of Tennessee. 
No notice of the taking of such easement to the 
owner of any property affected thereby shall be re- 
quired other than the passage of an ordinance in 
conformity with the charter provisions of any mu- 
nicipality passing such ordinance. Such ordinance 
shall also provide that at a future time to be therein 
specified, not later than twenty-five (25) years after 
the passage of such ordinance, the municipal cor- 
poration shall widen the street to the line or lines 
established in such ordinance; but between the time 
of the passage of such ordinance and the time fixed 
therein at which the street shall be widened to such 
a line, or lines, the owners of the lands over which 
the municipality has acquired the easement afore- 
said shall have the right to make any use of such 
land not inconsistent with the right of such munici- 
pality under its easement, or inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act, including the right to main- 
tain upon such land any building, structure or ap- 
purtenances existing thereon at the time of the pas- 
sage of such ordinance. 


SECTION 4. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
the municipality passing such ordinance may pro- 
ceed to the assessment of damages to the owners of 
lands affected thereby under the law relating to 
eminent domain; and the owners of such land shall 
likewise have the right to institute in any court of 
competent jurisdiction their actions to have assessed 
the damages sustained by them; but no action shall 
be brought by any owner of property affected by 
such ordinance for damages by reason of the taking 
of such easement, unless the action shall have been 
brought within twelve months of the final passage of 
the ordinance establishing such line or lines; pro- 
vided, however, that this shall not apply to any per- 
son under disability whose right to bring an action 
is regulated or governed by any other Act or law of 
the State of Tennessee. 


The measure of damage for the taking of such 
easement under any such ordinance shall be the 
difference between the value of the land at the time 
of the taking, without the easement, and the value 


{ 157 J 


BeleNeAs tz 


Ee a ba ae ely 


of the land at the time of the taking, subject to the 
easement of the municipality acquiring it under the 
ordinance; provided, however, that should this pro- 
vision of this Act relating to the rule of the dam- 
ages be held invalid, that the owners of any prop- 
erty affected by the taking of such easement by the 
municipality shall be entitled to such damages as 
may be awarded them under the law of the land. 
Nothing herein contained shall be held to give any 
municipality passing an ordinance under the provi- 
sions hereof, any right, title or interest in or to any 
building or improvement now or hereafter erected 
on any land over which the city acquires the ease- 
ment hereinbefore provided for, or to the use or 
possession of any land within the line or lines so 
established until the acquisition of the land as here- 
inafter provided for. 


SECTION 5. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
at the end of the period designated in such ordinance 
the municipality passing it shall proceed to widen 
the street named therein, and to that end shall there- 
upon proceed to acquire by purchase, condemnation, 
or otherwise, the land necessary to be taken for such 
widening, and the owner thereof shall be entitled to 
such damages as he may then be entitled to under 
the law where private property is taken for public 
use. Such widening and improving shall be done 
under any law then existing relating to the widening 
and improving of any street in any such municipal- 
ity, and the cost thereof shall be borne in the man- 
ner then provided by law. 


SECTION 6. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
if, between the time of the passage of any such 
ordinance and the widening of such street under the 
ordinance, the owners of land abutting such build- 


[ 158 ] 


ing line, or lines, are damaged by the passage of 
such ordinance in any manner otherwise than by 
the taking of such easement in the land, each shall 
have a right of action against the municipality pass- 
ing such ordinance for any damages legally recover- 
able for such injury; provided, however, that any 
such action shall be brought within one year from 
the time it shall accrue, saving, however, to persons 
under any legal disability the right to bring such 
action within such time as may be provided by law. 


SECTION:-7. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
damages for the easement taken or damages to any 
owner hereinbefore provided for, may be paid by the 
municipality out of any general or special fund 
which may be provided for that purpose under the 
general law of the State of Tennessee, or any char- 
ter provision of any such municipality. 


SECTION 8. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
this act shall not limit or abridge any power now or 
hereafter conferred by law on any municipality to 


establish building lines, whether under the police 


power, by eminent domain, or otherwise. 


SECTION 9. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
if any section, clause, paragraph, or part thereof, 
shall be held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such 
invalid part shall not affect the validity of the bal- 
ance of the Act, as this Act would have been passed 
by the General Assembly, notwithstanding that such 
invalid part is elided. 


SECTION 10. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, that 
this Act take effect from and after its passage, the 
public welfare requiring it. 


Crh Ak Ae 


PelLearNaN TENeG 


CeOn Me Males 2S" OAN 


APPENDIX E 
CITY PLANNING ORDINANCE 


TO PROVIDE for the establishment of a City 
Planning Commission under the provisions of Chap- 
ter 162 of the Private Acts of the General Assembly 
of the State of Tennessee for the year 1921; to pre- 
scribe the powers and duties of such Commission; 
and vest in such Commission jurisdiction over all 
new subdivisions or resubdivisions of land within the 
corporate limits of the City of Memphis. 


SECTION 1. Be it ordained by the Board of.Com- 
missioners of the City of Memphis, that there shall 
be and is hereby created a City Planning Commis- 
sion for and in the City of Memphis. 


SECTION 2. Be it further ordained, that such 
City Planning Commission shall consist of eight citi- 
zen members, to be appointed by the Mayor, subject 
to the approval of the Board of Commissioners, and 
four members ex officio. The Commissioner of 
Streets, Bridges and Sewers, the Commissioner of 
Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings, the Chair- 
man of the Park Board and the City Engineer shall 
be ex officio members of the Planning Commission, 
and, in addition, there shall be a secretary, to be 
likewise appointed by the Mayor. The secretary 
shall have custody of the books and records of the 
Commission, but he shall have no vote. The term 
of the chairman shall be for one year, and he shall 
be elected by the Planning Commission and shall 
hold office until his successor is elected. 


The citizen members of the Planning Commission 
first appointed shall serve, respectively, two for one 
year, three for two years, and three for three years, 
computed from January 1, 1921. Thereafter mem- 
bers shall be appointed for terms of three years 
each. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment for 
the unexpired term only. All members may be re- 
moved at any time, by a majority vote of the Board 
of Commissioners, for cause. The secretary shall 
hold office at the will and pleasure of the Mayor. 
Neither the members of the Planning Commission 
nor the secretary shall receive compensation for 
their services, but allowances for actual expenses in 
connection with duties performed may be made. 


SECTION 38. Be it further ordained, that the 
members of the Planning Commission shall meet at 
least once a month at such times and places as they 
may fix by resolution. Special meetings may be 
ealled, from time to time, by the chairman. Five 
members of the Planning Commission shall consti- 
tute a quorum for the transaction of business. The 
Planning Commission shall cause proper record to 
be kept of its proceedings. 


SECTION 4. Be it further ordained, that it shall 
be the duty of the Planning Commission to collect 
data and to keep itself informed as to the best prac- 
tices, and the advancement made generally, in the 
art of city planning, to the end that it may be quali- 
fied to act on matters that affect the present and 
future movements of traffic, the convenience, the 
safety of persons and property, the health, the rec- 
reation and the general welfare and amenities and 
all other needs of the municipality, which are de- 
pendent upon the city plan. 


SECTION 5. Bt it further ordained, that it shall 
be the duty of all city departments to render assist- 
ance to the Planning Commission in the way of in- 
formation, advice and co-operation. However, it is 
not intended to supplant nor impair the power of 
any existing board, bureau or commission already in 
existence and operating under charter provisions and 
ordinances, except that matters coming within the 
purview of the Planning Commission shall be re- 
ferred to that body, to the end that there shall be 
a proper correlation of thought and the furtherance 
of comprehensive plans for all betterments carried 
out by the city. 


SECTION 6. Be it further ordained, that it shall 
be within the further powers and duties of the Plan- 
ning Commission to make plans and maps of the 
whole or any portion of the municipality, or any land 
outside of the municipality which, in the opinion of 
the Commission, bears a relation to the planning of 
the municipality, and to make changes in such plans 
or maps when it deems same advisable. Such plans 
shall show the Planning Commission’s recommenda: 
tions for any streets, alleys, ways, viaducts, bridges, 
subways, railroads, terminals, transit lines, park- 
ways, parks, playgrounds, or any other public grounds 
or public improvements, and the removal, relocation, 
widening or extension of such public work then 
existing. The Planning Commission shall have au- 
thority to recommend provisions for the preservation 
and care of historical landmarks, control in the man- 
ner provided by ordinance the design and location of 
statuary and other works of art which are, or may 
become, the property of the municipality, and the 
removal, relocation and alteration of such works be- 
longing to the municipality, and the design and loca- 
tion of harbors, bridges, viaducts, street fixtures and 
other public structures and appurtenances. 


SECTION 7. Be it further ordained, that when- 
ever the Board of Commissioners shall have adopted 
a city plan recommended by the Planning Commis- 
sion, no public buildings, streets, alleys, ways, via- 


[ 159 ] 


FoR NeALL 


ROESP +0 Rat 


ducts, bridges, subways, railroads, terminals, transit 
lines, parkways, parks, playgrounds, or any other 
public grounds or public improvements, or part there- 
of, shall be constructed until and unless the location 
thereof shall be approved by the Planning Commis- 
sion; provided, however, that in case of its disap 
proval, the Planning Commission shall communicate 
its reasons for disapproval to the Board of Commis- 
sioners, and thereupon, by majority vote of the 
Board of Commissioners, it shall have the power of 
overruling such disapproval. The widening, narrow- 
ing, ornamentation, vacancies, or change in the use 
of streets and other public ways, public grounds or 
other public improvements appearing on the adopted 
plan shall be subject to similar approval by the 
Planning Commission, and upon disapproval by the 
Planning Commission may be similarly overruled. 
The Planning Commission may make recommenda- 
tions to any public authorities or to any corporations 
or individuals in such municipality, or in the terri- 
tory contiguous thereto, concerning the relocation of 
any buildings, structures or works to be erected or 
constructed by them. 


SECTION 8. Be it further ordained, that all plans, 
plots or replots of lands laid out in building lots, 
into streets, alleys, or other portions of the same, 
intended to be dedicated to public use, or for the 
use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting on or 
adjoining and located within the corporate limits of 
the municipality, shall be submitted to the Planning 
Commission for approval; provided, however, that in 
case of its disapproval, the Planning Commission 
shall communicate its reasons for disapproval to the 
Board of Commissioners, and thereupon, by majority 
vote of the Board of Commissioners, it shall have 
the power of overruling such disapproval. 

The approval of the Planning Commission or the 
Board of Commissioners shall be deemed an accept- 
ance of the proposed dedication, but this shall not 
impose any duty upon the city concerning the main- 
tenance or improvement of such dedicated parts, 
until the Board of Commissioners shall have made 
an actual appropriation of same, by entry, use or 
improvement. 

No sewer, water or gas main or pipes, or other 
improvements, shall be voted or made, nor shall any 


[ 160 } 


public money be expended for the benefit of any 
such purchaser or owner; nor shall any permit for 
connection with, or other use of any such improve- 
ment existing, or, for any other reason, be given to 
any such purchasers or owners until such plan is 
so approved by the Planning Commission or the 
Board of Commissioners. No sewer, water or gas 
main or pipe or other improvements shall be voted 
or made, nor shall any public money be expended 
within any lands laid out in building lots, streets 
and alleys, until the plan, plot or replot of such lands 
shall have been approved by the Planning Commis- 
sion or by the Board of Commissioners. 


SECTION 9. Be it further ordained, that the Plan- 
ning Commission shall have power to control, ap- 
point or employ such architects, engineers and other 
professional service, and to appoint such clerks, 
draftsmen and other subordinates as it shall deem 
necessary for the performance of its functions, the | 
expenditures for such service and employment to be 
within the amounts appropriated for the use of the 
Planning Commission. 


SECTION 10. Be it further ordained, that the 
Planning Commission shall make the Board of Com- 
missioners an annual report, giving a resume of its 
work during the preceding year. In such report it 
shall also make recommendations as to future proj- 
ects to be undertaken, and from time to time it 
shall also make like recommendations for public 
improvements which, in its judgment, should be 
undertaken. 


SECTION 11. Be it further ordained, that all or- 
dinances and parts of ordinances in conflict here- 
with are hereby repealed. 


SECTION 12. Be it further ordained, that this 
ordinance shall go into effect from and after its pas- 
sage, the public welfare requiring it. 


Passed March 29, 1921. 


Approved: 
ROWLETT PAINH, 
Mayor. 
Attest: 
CyCGPASHBY, 
City Clerk. 


Cle aey, a aa Nise Noe eee Nt G; 


Ce Or MONS spa LeOo IN 


APPENDIX F 
ZONING ORDINANCE 


(As Passed November 7, 1922.) 


AN ORDINANCE to regulate and restrict the loca- 
tion of trades and industries and the location of 
buildings designed for specified uses, to regulate and 
limit the height and bulk of buildings hereafter 
erected or altered, to regulate and determine the 
area of yards, courts and other open spaces sur- 
rounding buildings, to regulate and limit the density 
of population, and for said purpose to divide the 
city into districts and prescribe penalties for the 
violation of its provisions and to provide for its en- 
forcement. 


WHEREAS, by the provisions of Chapter 165 of 
the Private Acts of the General Assembly of the 
State of Tennessee for the year 1921, authority is 
conferred upon the City of Memphis to establish 
districts or zones within its corporate limits for the 
purpose of better regulating the use of land and 
controlling the density of population to the end that 
congestion upon the public streets may be lessened, 
the public health, safety, convenience and general 
welfare promoted; and, 


WHEREAS, the City Planning Commission, crea- 
ated under the provisions of Chapter 162 of the Pri- 
vate Acts of 1921, pursuant to the provisions of Sec- 
tion 4 of said Chapter 165 and resolutions of the 
Board of Commissioners of the City of Memphis 
duly adopted, has recommended boundaries or dis- 
tricts, and appropriate regulations to be enforced 
therein, and public hearings having been held, at 
which all owners of property affected were given 
ample opportunity, after public notice by advertise- 
ment, to file their protests or criticisms, if any they 
had; and, 


WHEREAS, the passage, promulgation and en- 
forcement of the provisions hereinafter contained 
are deemed to be necessary to the carrying out of 
the governmental powers delegated to and possessed 
by the City of Memphis for securing the objects here- 
inbefore expressed; therefore: 


SECTION 1 
DEFINITIONS 


Be it ordained by the Board of Commissioners of 
the City of Memphis, that for the purpose of this 
ordinance certain terms and words are herewith de- 
fined, as follows: 

Words used in the present tense include the fu- 
ture; words in the singular number include the plu- 
ral number, and words in the plural number include 
the singular number; the word “building” includes 


Sy [ [== 


the word ‘structure’; the word “shall” is manda- 
tory and not directory. Any words not herein de- 
fined shall be construed as defined in the building 
code. 

ALLEY: A public thoroughfare not over twenty 
(20) feet wide. 

APARTMENT HOUSE: A building or portion 
thereof used or intended to be used as the home of 
three or more families or households living inde- 
pendently of each other. 


BASEMENT: A story partly under ground, which, 
if not occupied for living purposes by other than the 
janitor or his family, shall not be included as a story 
for purpose of height measurements. 

BOARDING HOUSE: A building, other than a 
hotel, where lodging and meals, for five or more 
persons, are served for compensation. 

BUILDING: A structure having a roof supported 
by columns or walls for the shelter, support or en- 
closure of persons, animals or chattels; and when 
separated by division walls from the ground up, and 
without openings, each portion of such building shall 
be deemed a separate building except as provided 
in Section 16. 

CURB LEVEL: The mean level of the established 
curb in front of the building. 


DEPTH OF REAR YARD: The minimum horizon- 
tal distance between the rear line of a building other 
than a building for an accessory use, and the center 
line of the alley, where an alley exists, otherwise 
the rear lot line. 


DEPTH OF LOT: The mean horizontal distance 
between the front and rear lot lines. 


HEIGHT OF BUILDING: The vertical distance 
measured from the curb level to the highest point 
of the roof surface, if a flat roof; to the deck line 
of mansard roofs, and to the mean height level be- 
tween eaves and ridge for gable, hip and gambrel 
roofs, For buildings set back from the street line 
the height of the building may be measured from 
the average elevation of the finished grade along 
the front of the building, provided its distance from 
the street line is not less than the height of such 
grade above the established curb level. 


HEIGHT OF COURT OR YARD: The vertical 
distance from the lowest level of such court or yard 
to the highest point of any bounding wall. 

HOTEL: A building occupied as the more or less 
temporary abiding place of individuals who are 
lodged with or without meals, in which, as a rule, 


[ 161 ] 


Peg SNS ee 


ee OF ae 


the rooms are occupied singly for hire, in which 
provision is not made for cooking in any individual 
apartment, and in which there are more than twelve 
(12) sleeping rooms, a public dining room for the 
accommodation of more than twelve (12) guests, and 
a general kitchen. 

INNER COURT: An open, unoccupied space sur- 
rounded on all sides by walls, or by walls and a lot 
line. 

LENGTH OF OUTER COURT: The mean hori- 
zontal distance between the open and closed ends of 
the court. 

LODGING HOUSE: A building, other than a 
hotel, where lodging for five (5) or more persons is 
provided for compensation. 


LOT: Land occupied or to be occupied by a build- 
ing and its accessory buildings, and including such 
open spaces as are required under this ordinance, 
and having its principal frontage upon a public street 
or officially approved place. 


LOT, CORNER: A lot situated at the junction of 
two or more streets, and having a width not greater 
than fifty (50) feet. 


LOT, INTERIOR: A lot other than a corner lot. 


LOT, THROUGH: An interior lot having frontage 
on two streets. 

LOT LINES: 
herein. 


NON-CONFORMING USE: A building or premises 
occupied by a use that does not conform with the 
regulations of the use district in which it is situated. 


ONE-FAMILY DWELLING: A detached building 
having accommodations for and occupied by only 
one family. 

OUTER COURT: An open reserved space on the 
same lot with a building, extending to and opening 
upon a Street, alley or yard. 


PLACE: An open unoccupied space reserved for 
purposes of access for abutting property. 


PORCH: A roofed space open on three sides; 
one or two stories in height. 


PRIVATE GARAGE: A garage with capacity for 
not more than three (3) steam or motor-driven ve- 
hicles, for storage only, for private use and not more 
than one space in which shall be rented to persons 
not occupants of the premises. Of the vehicles al- 
lowed not more than one shall be a commercial 
motor-driven vehicle. A private garage may exceed 
a three (3) vehicle capacity, provided the area of 
the lot whereon such a private garage is to be lo- 
cated shall contain not less than twenty-five hundred 
(2,500) square feet for each vehicle stored. 


PUBLIC GARAGE: Any premises, except those 
described as a private garage, used for housing or 
care of more than three (3) steam or motor-driven 
vehicles, or where any such vehicles are equipped 
for operation, repaired, or kept for remuneration, 
hire or sale. 

PRIVATE STABLE: A stable with a capacity for 
not more than four horses or mules. 


The lines bounding a lot as defined 


{ 162 ] 


PUBLIC STABLE: A stable with a capacity for 
more than four horses or mules. 


REAR YARD: A space, unoccupied except by a 
building of accessory use as hereinafter permitted, 
extending for the full width of the lot between a 
building other than a building of accessory use and 
the rear lot line. 


ROW HOUSE: A row of attached dwellings erect- 
ed simultaneously, each dwelling having accommo- 
dations for one family only. 


SETBACK: The minimum horizontal distance be- 
tween the front line or any projection of the build- 
ing, excluding steps and unenclosed porches, and the 
street line. 


SIDE YARD: An open, unoccupied space on the 
same lot with a building between the building and 
the side line of the lot and extending from the street 
line to the rear yard. 


STREET: A public thoroughfare more than twen- 
ty (20) feet wide. 


STORY: That portion of a building included be- 
tween the surface of any floor and the surface of 
the floor next above it, or if there be no floor above 
it, then the space between such floor and the ceiling 
next above it. 

STORY, HALF: That portion of a building, in 
the “A” Height and Area District, between the sur- 
face of the floor above the second story and the 
finished ceiling line underneath the roof. This half 
story shall not have an average height of more than 
eight feet covering a floor area of more than seventy- 
five (75) per cent of the area of the floor on the 
first story below. 

STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS: Any change in 
the supporting members of a building, such as bear- 
ing walls, columns, beams or girders. 

TENEMENT HOUSE: See “Apartment House.” 

TWO-FAMILY DWELLING: A detached or semi- 
detached building having separate accommodations 
for and occupied as a dwelling by two (2) families. 


. SECTION 2 
USE DISTRICT REGULATIONS 


Be it further ordained, that in order to regulate 
and restrict the location of trades and industries and 
the location of buildings erected or altered for speci- 
fied uses, the City of Memphis is hereby divided into 
“USE DISTRICTS,” of which there shall be five, 
known as: 


“A” Residence District. 
“B” Residence District. 
“C” Commercial District. 
“D” Industrial District. 
“HY” Unrestricted District. 


The City of Memphis is hereby divided into five 
(5) districts, aforesaid, and the boundaries of such 
districts are shown upon the map attached hereto 
and made a part of this ordinance, being designated 
as the “USE DISTRICT MAP,” and said map and 
all the notations, references and other things shown 
thereon shall be as much a part of this ordinance as 


CAL Tay: 


Pe Le tNN Loon, Ha 


G. ©) Wy Wil WR Sy A as 


if the matters and things set forth by said map were 
all fully described herein. 

Except as hereinafter provided, no building shall 
be erected or altered, nor shall any building or prem- 
ises be used for any purpose other than is permitted 
in the Use District in which such building or prem- 
ises is located. 


SECTION 3 
“A” RESIDENCE DISTRICT 


Be it further ordained, that in the “A” Residence 
District no building or premises shall be used and 
no building shall be hereafter erected or structurally 
altered, unless otherwise provided in this ordinance, 
except for one or more of the following uses: 


Farming and Truck Gardening. 

Accessory buildings, including one private ga- 
rage or private stable when located not less than 
60 feet from the front lot line, or a private garage 
in a (fireproof) compartment as a part of the main 
building. 

8. Uses customarily incident to any of the above 
uses when located on the same lot ana not involving 
the conduct of a business; including also home occu- 
pations engaged in by the occupants of a dwelling 
not involving the conduct of a business on the prem- 
ises, and including also the office of a physician, 
surgeon, dentist, musician or artist, when situated 
in the same dwelling used by such physician, sur- 
geon, dentist, musician or artist as his or her pri- 
vate dwelling: provided no name plate exceeding one 
(1) square foot in area, containing the name and 
occupation of the occupant of the premises, nor a 
sign exceeding eight (8) square feet in area apper- 
taining to the lease, hire or sale of a building or 
premises, nor advertising sign of any other charac- 
ter shall be permitted in any “A” residence district. 


SECTION 4 
“B” RESIDENCE DISTRICT 


1. One-Family Dwellings. 
2. Two-Family Dwellings. 
3. Churches. 

4. Schools. 

5. Libraries. 

6. 

is 


Be it further ordained, that in the “B” Residence 
District no building or premises shall be used and 
no building shall be hereafter erected or structurally 
altered unless otherwise provided in this ordinance, 
except for one or more of the following uses: 


1. Any use permitted in the “A” Residence Dis- 
trict. 

2. Apartment Houses. 

3. Hotels. 

4. Private Clubs, Fraternities, Lodges, excepting 
those the chief activity of which is a service cus- 
tomarily carried on as a business. 

5. Boarding and Lodging Houses. 

6. Hospitals and Clinics. 

7. Institutions of an educational, philanthropic or 
eleemosynary nature. 


8. Nurseries and Greenhouses for the propagating 
and cultivation and growing of plants only. 

9. Accessory buildings and uses customarily inci- 
dent to any of the above uses when located on the 
same lot and not involving the conduct of a business. 

10. Public garages, for storage purposes only, and 
where no repair facilities are maintained, when lo- 
cated not Jess than sixty (60) feet from the front 
lot line, and not less than thirty (30) feet from any 
other street line on which the property faces; pro- 
vided that before permit is issued there are on file 
in the office of the Commissioner of Public Utilities, 
Grounds and Buildings the written consents of the 
owners of seventy-five (75) per cent of the property 
within five hundred (500) feet of any part of the 
premises whereon such public garage is to be estab- 
lished, and not separated therefrom by more than 
one (1) street or one (1) alley; provided, further, 
that no public garage shall have an entrance or exit 
for motor vehicles within two hundred (200) feet of 
an entrance or exit of a public or private school, 
playground, public library, church, hospital, chil- 
dren’s or old people’s home, or other similar public 
or semi-public institutions. 


SECTION 5 
“C” COMMERCIAL DISTRICT 


Be it further ordained, that in the “C’” Commercial 
District, all buildings and premises, except as other- 
wise provided in this ordinance, may be used for any 
use permitted in the “B” Residence District or for 
any other use except the following: 


Bakery (employing more than five (5) persons). 
Blacksmith or Horseshoeing Shop. 

Bottling Works. 

Building material storage yard. 

Carting, express, hauling or storage yard. 
Contractor’s plant or storage yard. 

Coal, coke or wood yard. 

Cooperage works. 

9. Dyeing and cleaning works (employing more 
than five (5) persons). 

10. Ice Plant or Storage House of more than five 
(5) tons capacity. 

11. Laundry (employing more than five (5) per- 
sons). 

12. Livery Stable. 

13. Lumber Yard. 

14. Machine Shop. 

15. Milk Distributing Station. 

16. Stone Yard or Monument Works. 

17. Storage Warehouse. 

18. All uses excluded from the “D” Industrial 
District. 

19. Any kind of manufacture or treatment other 
than the manufacture or treatment of products clear- 
ly incidental to the conduct of a retail business con- 
ducted on the premises. 

20. Public Garages: Provided, however, that spe- 
cial permits for the location and maintenance of 
public garages shall be granted by the Commissioner 
of Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings, when 


[ 163 ] 


1) We NE ek ab 


Ink dd) EY Oa 


there shall be on file with said Commissioner the 
written consents of the owners of 75 per cent of the 
area of all the property within two hundred (200) 
feet of any part of the premises whereon such public 
garage is to be established, erected or enlarged. 
Provided, further, that no public garage shall have 
an entrance or exit for motor vehicles within two 
hundred (200) feet of an entrance or exit of a pub- 
lic or private school, playground, public library, 
church, hospital, children’s or old people’s home, or 
other similar public or semi-public institutions. 


SECTION 6 
“D” INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT 


Be it further ordained, that in the “D” Industrial 
District all buildings and premises except as other- 
wise provided in this ordinance may be used for any 
use permitted in the “C” Commercial District or 
for any other use except the following: 


1. Abattoirs. 

2. Acetylene gas manufacture. 

3. Acid manufacture. 

4, Ammonia, Bleaching Powder or Chlorine man- 
ufacture. 

5. Arsenal. 

6. Asphalt manufacture or refining. 

7. Blast Furnace. 

8. Boiler Works. 

9. Brick, Tile or Terra Cotta manufacture. 

10. Candle manufacture. 

11. Bag cleaning. 

12. Celluloid manufacture. 

13. Coke Ovens. 

14. .Cotton Gin. 

15. Crematory. 

16. Creosote treatment or manufacture. 

17. Disinfectants manufacture. 

18. Distillation of Bones, Coal or Wood. 

19. Dyestuff manufacture. 

20. Exterminator and Insect Poison manufacture. 

21. Emery Cloth and Sand Paper manufacture. 

22. Fat Rendering. 

23. Fertilizer manufacture. 

24. Fireworks or Explosive manufacture or stor- 


25. Fish Smoking and Curing. 

26. Forge Plant. 

27. Gas (illuminating or heating) manufacture. 

28. Glue, Size or Gelatine manufacture. 

29. Gunpowder manufacture or storage. 

30. Incineration or Reduction of Garbage, Dead 
Animals, Offal or Refuse. 

31. Iron, Steel, Brass or Copper Foundry. 

32. Lamp Black manufacture. 

33. Oilcloth or Linoleum manufacture. 

34. Oiled, Rubber or Leather Goods manufacture. 

35. Ore Reduction, 

36. Paint, Oil, Shellac, Turpentine or Varnish 
manufacture. 

37. Paper and Pulp manufacture. 

38. Petroleum Products, refining or 
storage of Petroleum. 


wholesale 


[ 164 ] 


39. Plating Works. 

40. Potash Works. 

41. Printing Ink manufacture. 

42. Pyroxlin manufacture. 

43. Rock Crusher. 

44. Rolling Mill. 

45. Rubber or Gutta Percha manufacture or treat- 


46. Salt Works. 

47. Sauer Kraut manufacture. 

48. Sausage manufacture. 

49. Ship Yard. 

50. Shoe Blacking manufacture. 

51. Smelters. 

52. Soap manufacture. 

53. Soda and Compound manufacture. 

54. Stock Yards. 

55. Stone Mill or Quarry. 

56. Storage or Baling of Scrap Paper, Iron, Bot- 
tles, Rags or Junk. 
57. Stove Polish manufacture. 


58. Sulphuric, Nitric, or Hydrochloric Acid manu- 


facture. 

59. Tallow, Grease or Lard manufacture or refin- 
ing from animal fat. 

60. Tanning, Curing or Storage of Rawhides or 
Skins. 

61. Tar Distillation or manufacture. 

62. Tar Roofing or Water Proofing manufacture. 

68. Tobacco (chewing) manufacture or treatment. 

64. Vinegar manufacture. 

65. Wool Pulling or Scouring. 

66. Yeast plant. 

67. And in general those uses which have been 
declared a nuisance in any court of record, or which 
may be obnoxious, or otfensive by reason of the 
emission of odor, dust, smoke, gas or noise. 


SECTION 7 
“E” UNRESTRICTED DISTRICT 


Be it further ordained, that in the “EK” Unrestricted 
District buildings and premises may be used for any 
purposes whatsoever, not in conflict with any ordi- 
nance of the City of Memphis regulating nuisances. 


SECTION 8 
NON-CONFORMING USES 


Be it further ordained, that the lawful use of land 
existing at the time of adoption of this ordinance, 
although such use does not conform to the provisions 
hereof, may be continued, but if such non-conform- 
ing use is discontinued, any future use of said prem- 
ises shall be in conformity with the provisions of 
this ordinance. 

The lawful use of a building existing at the time 
of the adoption of this ordinance may be continued. 
although such use does not conform with the pro- 
visions hereof, and such use may be extended 
throughout the building, provided no structural alter- 
ations, except those required by law or ordinance, 
are made therein. If no structural alterations are 


ani 


Cie BED YON Dae Ae Ngee Ne LN Gr 


CF OPM eM le Sis fb Oan 


made, a non-conforming use of a building may be 
changed to any use permitted in the same use dis- 
trict as that in which the use existing at the time 
of the adoption of this ordinance is permitted, ac- 
cording to the provisions of this ordinance. When- 
ever a use district shall be hereafter changed, any 
then existing non-conforming use in such changed 
district may be continued or changed to a use per- 
mitted in the same use district as that in which the 
existing use is permitted, provided all other regula- 
tions governing the new use are complied with. 
Whenever a non-conforming use of a building has 
been changed to a more restricted use or to a con- 
forming use, such use shall not thereafter be changed 
to a less restricted use. 


SECTION 9 
BILL BOARDS AND SIGN BOARDS 


Be it further ordained, that it shall be unlawful 
for any person, firm or corporation to erect or con- 
struct any bill board or sign board in the “A” Resi- 
dence District as defined in this ordinance. It shall 
be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to 
erect or construct any Dill board or sign board in 
the “B” Residence District as defined in this ordi- 
nance, without first obtaining the consent in writing 
from the owners or duly authorized agents of said 
owners owning at least seventy-five per cent of the 
frontage of the property on both sides of the street 
in the block in which said bill board or sign board 
shall be erected, constructed or located. It shall be 
unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect 
or construct any bill board or sign board in the “C” 
Commercial District as defined in this ordinance, 
without first obtaining the consent in writing from 
the owners or duly authorized agents of said owners 
owning the majority frontage of the property on 
both sides of the street in the block in which said 
bill board or sign board shall be erected, constructed 
or located. The written consent required in the 
“B” Residence District and the “C’’ Commercial 
District shall be filed with the Commissioner of 
Publie Utilities, Grounds and Buildings before a 
permit shall be issued for the erection, construction 
or location of such bill board or sign board. 


SECTION 10 
HEIGHT AND AREA DISTRICT REGULATIONS 


Be it further ordained, that in order to regulate 
and limit the height and bulk of buildings hereafter 
erected or altered; to regulate and determine the 
area of yards, courts and other open spaces sur- 
rounding buildings, and to regulate and limit the 
density of population, the City of Memphis is hereby 
divided into districts, of which there shall be five 
(5), known as: 


“A” Height and Area District. 
“B” Height and Area District. 
“C” Height and Area District. 
“D” Height and Area District. 
“KE” Height and Area District. 


The boundaries of such districts, shown upon the 
map attached hereto and made a part of this ordi- 
nance, are hereby established, said map being desig- 
nated as the “Height and Area District Map,” and 
said map and all the notations, references and other 
information shown thereon shall be as much a part 
of this ordinance as if the matters and information 
set forth by said map were all fully described herein. 

Except as hereinafter provided, no building shall 
be erected or structurally altered except in conform- 
ity with the regulations herein established for the 
height and area district in which such building is 
located. 

No lot area shall be so reduced or diminished that 
the yards or open spaces shall be smaller than pre- 
scribed by this ordinance. 


SECTION 11 
“A” HEIGHT AND AREA DISTRICT 


Be it further ordained, that in the “A” Height and 
Area District the height of buildings, the minimum 
dimensions of yards and courts, and the minimum 
lot area per family shall be as follows: 


HEIGHT: No building hereafter erected or struc- 
turally altered shall exceed thirty-five (35) feet or 
two and one-half (2%) stories. See Section 16 (a) 
and (b). 


REAR YARD: There shall be a rear yard having 
a minimum depth of twenty-five (25) feet. See Sec- 
tion 16 (i). 


SIDE YARD: There shall be a side yard on each 
side of a building of not less than five (5) feet in 
width, provided, however, that on a lot having a 
width of less than forty (40) feet and held under a 
distinct ownership from adjacent lots, and of record 
at the time of the passage of this ordinance, there 
shall be a side yard on each side of a building of 
not less than three (38) feet in width. See Section 
ils) GS)) Bum! (Gd)- 


OUTER COURT: The least dimension of an 
outer court shall be not less than five (5) feet, nor 
less than two (2) inches for each foot of height of 
such court, nor less than two (2) inches for each 
foot of length of such court from the closed end. 
See Section 16 (i). 


INNER COURT: The least dimension of an inner 
court shall not be less than six (6) feet, nor less 
than two and one-half (2%) inches for each foot of 
height of such court, nor shall its area be less than 
twice the square of its required least dimension. 


SETBACK: There shall be a setback line of not 
less than thirty (30) feet for the building line and 
a minimum of twenty (20) feet for the front line of 
any porch, provided that when twenty-five (25) per 
cent or more of all the frontage on one side of a 
street between two intersecting streets at the time 
of the passage of this ordinance has been built up 
with buildings having a minimum setback line of 
more, or of less, than thirty (30) feet from the street 
line, no building hereafter erected or structurally 
altered shall project beyond the minimum setback 


[ 165 J 


Hae leeNeAw 


lee 1, le? (@). 1gy dk 


line so established; provided, further, that this regu- 
lation shall not be so interpreted as to reduce the 
buildable width of a corner lot facing an intersecting 
street, held under a separate and distinct ownership 
from adjacent lots and of record at the time of the 
passage of this ordinance, to less than thirty-four 
(34) feet. 

LOT AREA PER FAMILY: Every building here- 
after erected or structurally altered which is located 
in the “A” Residence District and the “A” Height 
and Area District shall provide a lot area of not less 
than three thousand seven hundred and fifty (3,750) 
square feet per family; provided, however, that 
where a lot held under a distinct ownership from 
adjacent lots and of record at the time of the pas- 
sage of this ordinance has less area than herein re- 
quired, this regulation shall not apply. 

Every building hereafter erected or structurally 
altered which is located in the ‘“B” Residence Dis- 
trict and the “A” Height and Area District shall 
provide a lot area of not less than two thousand 
(2,000) square feet per family. 


SECTION 12 
“RB” HEIGHT AND AREA DISTRICT 


Be it further ordained, that in the “B” Height and 
Area District the height of buildings, the minimum 
dimensions of yards and courts, and the minimum 
lot area per family shall be as follows: 


HEIGHT: No building hereafter erected or struc- 
turally altered shall exceed forty-five (45) feet or 
three stories. See Section 16 (a). 

REAR YARD: There shall be a rear yard having 
a depth of not less than twenty-five (25) feet. See 
Section 16 (i). 

SIDE YARD: There shall be a side yard on each 
side of a building of not less than five (5) feet in 
width, provided, however, that on a lot having a 
width of less than forty (40) feet and held under a 
distinct ownership from adjacent lots, and of record 
at the time of the adoption of this ordinance, there 
shall be a side yard on each side of a building of 
not less than three (3) feet in width. A side yard 
shall in no case be less than one (1) inch in width 
for each foot of building length. See Section 16 (g) 
and (i). 

OUTER COURT: The least dimension of an outer 
court shall be not less than five (5) feet, nor less 
than two (2) inches for each foot of height of such 
court, nor less than two (2) inches for each foot of 
length of such court from the closed end. See Sec- 
tion 16 (1). 


INNER COURT: The least dimension of an inner 
court shall not be less than six (6) feet, nor less 
than two and one-half (21%) inches for each foot of 
height of such court, nor shall its area be less than 
twice the square of its required least dimension. 


SETBACK: There shall be a setback line of not 
less than thirty (30) feet for the building line and 
a minimum of twenty (20) feet for the front line of 
any porch; provided, that when twenty-five (25) per 


[ 166 ] 


cent or more of all the frontage on one side of a 
street between two intersecting streets at the time 
of the passage of this ordinance has been built up 
with buildings having a minimum setback line of 
more, or of less, than thirty (30) feet from the street 
line, no building hereafter erected or structurally 
altered shall project beyond the minimum setback 
line so established; provided, that no building shall 
be required to set back more than forty (40) feet 
in any case; and provided further, that this regula- 
tion shall not be so interpreted as to reduce the 
buildable width of a corner lot facing an intersecting 
street, held under a separate and distinct ownership 
from adjacent lots and of record at the time of the 
passage of this ordinance, to less than thirty-four 
(34) feet. Where all the frontage on one side of a 
street between two intersecting streets is located in 
a “C” Commercial, ‘“D” Industrial, or “EK” Unre- 
stricted District, and a “B” Height and Area Dis- 
trict, the setback regulations may be waived. 


LOT AREA PER FAMILY: Every building here- 
after erected or altered shall provide a lot area of 
not less than one thousand (1,000) square feet per 
family. 


SECTION 138 
“C” HEIGHT AND AREA DISTRICT 


Be it further ordained, that in the “C” Height and 
Area District the height of buildings, the minimum 
dimensions of yards and courts, and the minimum 
lot area per family shall be as follows: 


HEIGHT: No building hereafter erected or struc- 
turally altered shall exceed ninety (90) feet or eight 
(8) stories. 


REAR YARD: There shall be a rear yard of not 
less than twenty-five (25) feet. See Section 16 (i). 


SIDE YARD: There shall be a side yard on each 
side of the building having a width of not less than 
six (6) feet. A side yard shall in no case be less 
than one (1) inch wide for each foot of building 
height nor less than one and one-half (14%) inches 
wide for each foot of building length. See Section 
16 (g) and (i). 

OUTER COURT: The least dimension of an outer 
court shall not be less than five (5) feet, nor less 
than two (2) inches for each foot of height of such 
court, nor less than two (2) inches for each foot of 
length of such court from the closed end. See Sec- 
tion 16 (i). 

INNER COURT: The least dimension of an inner 
court shall not be less than six (6) feet, nor less 
than two and one-half (2%) inches for each foot of 
height of such court, nor shall its area be less than 
twice the square of its required least dimension. 


SETBACK: There shall be a setback line of not 
less than thirty (30) feet for the building line and a 
minimum of twenty (20) feet for the front line of 
any porch, provided that when twenty-five (25) per 
cent or more of all the frontage on one side of a 
street between two intersecting streets at the time 
of the passage of this ordinance has been built up 
with buildings having a minimum setback line of 


(Cre ele nY) eae ame a NN Loe Ni Cx 


CRO VMasiee Se Si leOt aN 


more, or less, than twenty (20) feet from the street 
line, no building hereafter erected or structurally 
altered shall project beyond the minimum setback 
line so established; provided, that no building shall 
be required to set back more than forty (40) feet in 
any case; and provided further, that this regulation 
shall not be so interpreted as to reduce the build- 
able width of a corner lot facing an intersecting 
street, held under a separate and distinct ownership 
from adjacent lots and of record at the time of the 
passage of this ordinance, to less than thirty-four 
(34) feet; provided, however, when all the frontage 
on one side of a street between two intersecting 
streets is located in a “C”’ Commercial, “D’” Indus- 
trial, or ‘“E”’ Unrestricted District, and a “C” Height 
and Area District, the setback regulations may be 
waived. 

LOT AREA PER FAMILY: Every building here- 
after erected or structurally altered shall provide a 
lot area of not less than six hundred twenty-five 
(625) square feet per family. 


SECTION 14 
“D” HEIGHT AND AREA DISTRICT 


Be it further ordained, that in the “D” Height and 
Area District the height of buildings and the mini- 
mum dimensions of yards and courts shall be as 
follows, provided, however, all buildings or parts of 
buildings hereafter erected or structurally altered 
for residential purposes shall conform to the regu- 
lations of the “C” Height and Area District (Sec- 
tion 18). 

HEIGHT: No building hereafter erected or struc- 
turally altered shall exceed ninety (90) feet or eight 
(8) stories. 

REAR YARD: There shall be a rear yard of not 
less than ten (10) feet. Section 16 (i). 

SIDE YARD: A side yard, if provided, shall be 
not less than five (5) feet. See Section 16 (i). 

OUTER COURT: The least dimension of an outer 
court shall be not less than five (5) feet wide, nor 
less than two (2) inches wide for each foot of height 
of such court, and not less than two (2) inches wide 


‘for each foot of length of such court from the en- 


closed end. See Section 16 (i). 

INNER COURT: The least dimension of an inner 
court shall be not less than six (6) feet wide, nor 
less than two (2) inches wide for each foot of height 
of such court, nor shall its area be less than twice 
the square of its required least dimension. 


SECTION 15 
“EK” HEIGHT AND AREA DISTRICT 


Be it further ordained, that in the “EH” Height and 
Area District the height of buildings and the mini- 
mum dimensions of yards and courts shall be as 
follows; provided, however, all buildings, or parts 
of buildings, hereafter erected or structurally altered 
for residential purposes shall conform to the regu- 
lations of the “C” Height and Area District (Sec- 
tion 18). 


HEIGHT: No building hereafter erected or struc- 
turally altered shall exceed one hundred and fifty 
(150) feet or twelve (12) stories. 

SIDE YARD: A side yard, if provided, shall be 
not less than five (5) feet wide. See Section 16 (i). 

OUTER COURT: The least dimension of an outer 
court shall be not less than five (5) feet wide, nor 
less than two (2) inches wide for each foot of height 
of such court, nor less than two (2) inches wide for 
each foot of length of such court from the enclosed 
end. See Section 16 (i). 


INNER COURT: The least dimension of an inner 
court shall be not less than six (6) feet wide, nor 
less than two (2) inches wide for each foot of height 
of such court, nor shall its area be less than twice 
the square of its required least dimension. 


SECTION 16 
HEIGHT AND AREA DISTRICT EXCEPTIONS 


Be it further ordained, that the foregoing require- 
ments in the height and area districts shall be sub- 
ject to the following exceptions and regulations: 


ELA G EVES (a) eh ine then ACweande: Bae tleie ht 
and Area Districts, public or semi-public buildings, 
hospitals, sanitariums or schools may be erected to 
a height not exceeding seventy-five (75) feet, when 
set back from all lot lines not less than one foot for 
each foot such buildings exceed thirty-five (35) and 
forty-five (45) feet, respectively, in height. 

(b) One- and two-family dwellings in the “A” 
Height and Area District may be increased in height 
by not more than ten (10) feet when two (2) side 
yards of not less than fifteen (15) feet each are pro- 
vided. Such dwellings, however, shall not exceed 
three (3) stories in height. 

(c) Parapet walls not exceeding tour feet in 
height, chimneys, cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, 
fire towers, gas tanks, grain elevators, pent houses, 
stacks, stage towers or scenery lofts, sugar refin- 
eries, tanks, water towers, radio towers, ornamental 
towers, monuments, cupolas, domes and spires and 
necessary mechanical appurtenances may be erected 
as to their height in accordance with existing or 
hereafter adopted ordinances of the City of Memphis. 

(d) In the one hundred fifty (150) foot height dis- 
trict, towers for occupancy may be erected above the 
height limit herein established, provided the largest 
horizontal dimension of any such tower shall not 
exceed sixty (60) feet, provided the total area shall 
not exceed twenty-five (25) per cent of the area of 
the lot, and provided that each such tower shall be 
removed at least twenty-five (25) feet from every 
lot line other than a street line, and at least fifty 
feet from any other tower. 

(e) On through lots one hundred (100) feet or less 
in depth the height of a building may be measured 
from the curb level on either street. On through 
lots more than one hundred (100) feet in depth the 
height regulations and basis of height measurements 
for the street permitting the greater height shall 
apply to a depth of not more than one hundred (100) 
feet from that street. 


[ 167 ] 


Eel NAS 


RoE PT OT RST 


AREA: (f) For purposes of the area regulations 
a semi-detached dwelling, or row house, in the “B” 
Residence District may be considered as one build- 
ing and occupying one lot. 

(g) A commercial building in the “A,” “B” and 
“Cc” Height and Area Districts may waive the re- 
quirements for side yards, but if a side yard be 
provided it shall have a minimum width as required. 

(h) Buildings on through lots and running through 
from street to street may waive the requirements 
for a rear yard by furnishing an equivalent open 
space in lieu of such required rear yard. 

(i) In computing the depth of a rear yard or the 
width of a side yard or outer court for any building 
where such yard or court opens onto an alley or 
street, one-half of such alley or street may be as- 
sumed to be a portion of the yard or court. 

(j) Every part of a required yard or court shall 
be open from its lowest point to the sky unobstruct- 
ed, except for the ordinary projections of skylight 
above the bottom of such yard or court, and except 
for the projection of sills, belt courses, cornices and 
ornamental features not to exceed four (4) inches. 

(k) No cornice shall project over the street line 
more than five (5) per cent of the width of such 
street, and shall in no case project more than four 
(4) feet. 

(1) Open or lattice enclosed fire escapes, fireproof 
outside stairways and balconies opening upon fire 
towers, projecting into a yard not more than five 
(5) feet or into a court not more than three and 
one-half (3144) feet, and the ordinary projections of 
chimneys and flues, may be permitted by the Com- 
missioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings, 
where same are so placed as not to obstruct the 
light and ventilation. 


SECTION 17 
ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD 


Be it further ordained, that an Administrative 
Board is hereby established. The word “Board” 
when used in this section shall be construed to 
mean the Administrative Board. The City Planning 
Commission shall be the Administrative Board. 


MEETINGS: Meetings of the Board shall be held 
at least once a month. There shall be a fixed place 
of meeting and all meetings shall be open to the 
public. The Board shall adopt its own rules of pro- 
cedure, and keep a record of its proceedings, show- 
ing the action of the Board and the vote of each 
member upon each question considered. The pres- 
ence of five (5) members shall be necessary to con- 
stitute a quorum. 


APPEAL: Appeal from the ruling of the Commis- 
sioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings 
concerning the enforcement of the provisions of this 
ordinance may be made to the Administrative Board 
within such time as shall be prescribed by the Board 
by general rule. The appellant shall file with the 
Commissioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and Build- 
ings and with the Administrative Board a notice of 
appeal, specifying the grounds thereof. The Com- 
missioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings 


{ 168 ] 


shall forthwith transmit to the Administrative Board 
all the papers constituting the record upon which 
the action appealed from was taken. 


JURISDICTION: In specific cases the Adminis- 
trative Board may authorize by permit a variation 
of the application of the use, height and area dis- 
trict regulations herein established in harmony with 
their general purpose and intent, as follows: 

(1) Grant a permit for a temporary building for 
commerce or industry in a residence district which 
is incidental to the residential development, such 
permit to be issued for a period of not more than 
one (1) year. 

(2) Grant a permit for the reconstruction, within 
twelve months, of a building located in a district 
restricted against its use, which has been destroyed 
by fire or other calamity, to the extent of not more 
than seventy-five (75) per cent of its assessed value. 

(3) Grant a permit for the extension of a use or 
height and area district for a distance of not more 
than twenty-five (25) feet, where the boundary line 
of a district divides a lot in a single ownership at 
the time of the adoption of this ordinance. 

(4) Grant a permit for the alteration or enlarge- 
ment of an existing building located in a district 
restricted against its use, where such alteration or 
enlargement is a necessary incident to the business 
existing at the time of the adoption of this ordi- 
nance; provided, however, that such alteration shall 
not unduly prolong the life of the building, and pro- 
vided further, that any such enlargement shall be in 
no case more than fifty (50) feet from an existing 
structure and on property in the same ownership as 
the existing structure at the time of the passage of 
this ordinance. 

(5) Grant a permit for the erection and use of a 
building or the use of a premises in any location to 
a public service corporation or for public utility pur- 
poses which the Board admits reasonably necessary 
for the public convenience or welfare. 

(6) Grant a permit in an industrial district for a 
building or use otherwise excluded from such dis- 
trict, provided such building or use is distinctly in- 
cidental and essential to a use permitted in an indus- 
trial district, provided such incidental building or 
use occupies not more than ten per cent of the lot, 
provided that not more than ten per cent of the 
employes of the building or plant are engaged there- 
in, and provided that such building or use is not 
located within fifty feet of any street or lot line. 

(7) Interpret the provisions of this ordinance in 
such a way as to carry out the intent and purpose 
of the plan, as shown upon the maps fixing the sev- 
eral districts accompanying and made a part of this 
ordinance where the street layout actually on the 
ground varies from the street layout as shown on 
the maps aforesaid. 

(8) Interpret the provisions of this ordinance in 
harmony with their fundamental purpose and intent 
where practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships 
occur. 

(9) Adopt from time to time such rules and regu- 
lations as may be deemed necessary to carry into 
effect the provisions of this ordinance. 


i 


Gees las y: 


Pan Leese Ne Non lle N 


G 


(Gy Wl WL US) le Oh aN 


SECTION 18 


CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY AND 
COMPLIANCE 


Be it further ordained, that no building hereafter 
erected or altered shall be occupied, used or changed 
in use until a certificate of occupancy and compli- 
ance shall have been issued by the Commissioner of 
Fublie Utilities, Grounds and Buildings, stating that 
the building or proposed use of a building, or prem- 
ises, complies with all the building and health laws 
and ordinances and with the provisions of these 
regulations. 


Certificates of occupancy and compliance shall be 
applied for coincident with the application for a 
building permit and shall be issued within ten (10) 
days after the erection or structural alteration of 
such buildings shall have been completed in con- 
formity with the provisions of these regulations. A 
record of all certificates shall be kept on file in 
the office of the Commissioner of Public Utilities, 
Grounds and Buildings, and copies shall be furnished, 
on request, to any person having a proprietary or 
tenancy interest in the building affected. No fee 
shall be charged for an original certificate, but for 
copies of any original certificate there shall be a 
charge of fifty cents each. 


No permit for excavation for any building shall 
be issued before application has been made for cer- 
tificate of occupancy and compliance. 


The use of no building already erected at the pas- 
sage of this ordinance shall be changed from one 
class of use to another unless and until a certificate 
of occupancy and compliance with the provisions of 
this ordinance shall have been obtained from the 
Commissioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and Build- 
ings. 


SECTION 19 
PLATS 


Be it further ordained, that all applications for 
building permits shall be accompanied by a plat in 
duplicate drawn to scale, showing the actual dimen- 
sions of the lot to be built upon, the size of the 
building to be erected, and such other information 
as may be necessary to provide for the enforcement 
of these regulations. A careful record of such ap- 
plications and plats shall be kept in the office of 
the Commissioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and 
Buildings. No yard, court or other open space pro- 
vided about any building for the purpose of comply- 
ing with the provisions of these regulations shall 
again be used as a yard, court or other open space 
for another building. 


SECTION 20 
INTERPRETATION, PURPOSE AND CONFLICT 


Be it further ordained, that in interpreting and 
applying the provisions of this ordinance, they shall 
be held to be the minimum requirements for the 
promotion of the public safety, health, convenience, 


comfort, prosperity and general welfare. It is not 
intended by this ordinance to interfere with or abro- 
gate or annul any easements, covenants or other 
agreements between parties; provided, however, that 
where this ordinance imposes a greater restriction 
upon the use of building or premises or upon height 
of building, or requires larger open spaces than are 
imposed or required by other ordinances, rules, reg- 
ulations or permits, or by easements, covenants or 
agreements, the provisions of this ordinance shall 
control. 


SECTION 21 
VIOLATION, PENALTY 


Be it further ordained, that any person, firm or 
corporation who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects 
or refuses to comply with or who resists the enforce- 
ment of any of the provisions of this ordinance shall 
be fined not less than five (5) dollars or more than 
fifty (50) dollars for each offense. Each day that 
a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a 
separate offense. 


SECTION 22 
BOUNDARIES OF DISTRICTS 


Be it further ordained, that where uncertainty 
exists with respect to the boundaries of the various 
districts as shown on the maps accompanying and 
made a part of this ordinance, the following rules 
shall apply: 

(a) The district boundaries are either streets or 
alleys, unless otherwise shown, and where the desig- 
nation on the maps accompanying and made a part 
of this ordinance indicating the various districts are 
approximately bounded by street or alley line, said 
street or alley shall be construed to be the boundary 
of such district. 


(b) Where the district boundaries are not other- 
wise indicated and where the property has been or 
may hereafter be divided into blocks and lots, the 
district boundaries shall be construed to be lot lines, 
and where the designations on the maps accompany- 
ing and made a part of this ordinance indicating 
the various districts are approximately bounded by 
lot lines, said lot line shall be construed to be the 
boundary of such district, unless said boundaries 
are otherwise indicated on the maps. 


(c) In unsubdivided property the district bound- 
ary lines on the maps accompanying and made a 
part of this ordinance shall be determined by use 
of the scale contained on such maps. 


SECTION 23 
VALIDITY 


Be it further ordained, that should any section, 
clause or provision of this ordinance be declared by 
the courts to be invalid, the same shall not affect 
the validity of the ordinance as a whole or any part 
thereof, other than the part so declared to be in- 
valid. 


{ 169 ] 


ele Nie ee le 


Wave ds, 12) (0) ay Ab 


SECTION 24 
CHANGES AND AMENDMENTS 


Be it further ordained, that the Board of Commis- 
sioners of the City of Memphis may, from time to 
time, amend, supplement or change by ordinance the 
boundaries of districts or regulations herein estab- 
lished. Any proposed amendment, supplement or 
change shall first be submitted to the City Planning 
Commission for its recommendation and report. 


A public hearing shall be held by the Board of 
Commissioners before adoption of any proposed 
amendment, supplement or change, notice of which 
hearing shall be given by publishing three (3) times 
in some daily newspaper of general circulation, stat- 
ing the time and place of such hearing, not earlier 
than ten (10) days from the last date of such pub- 
lication. 


If a protest against any proposed amendment, sup- 
plement or change be presented in writing to the 
city clerk, within ten days from date of last pub- 
lication, duly signed and acknowledged by the own- 
ers of twenty (20) per cent or more of any frontage 
proposed to be altered, or by the owners of twenty 
(20) per cent of the frontage immediately in the 
rear thereof, or by the owners of twenty (20) per 
cent of the frontage directly opposite the frontage 
proposed to be altered, such amendment, supplement 


[170 ] 


or change shall not be passed except by a four-fifths 
vote of the Board of Commissioners. 


SECTION 25 
ENFORCEMENT 


Be it further ordained, that it shall be the duty of 
the Commissioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and 
Buildings to see that this ordinance is enforced 
through the proper legal channels. Appeal from the 
decision of the Commissioner of Public Utilities, 
Grounds and Buildings may be made to the Admin- 
istrative Board, as provided by Section 17. 


SECTION 26 
CONFLICTING PROVISIONS REPEALED 


Be it further ordained, that all ordinances or parts 
of ordinances in conflict with any of the provisions © 
of this ordinance are hereby repealed. 


SECTION 27 
WHEN EFFECTIVE 
Be it further ordained, that this ordinance shall 


be in effect from and after its passage, the public 
welfare requiring it. 


COW Ana's jet AB, ly INE INE AE IE 6, 


COR Ma Vi Sars le OmN 


APPENDIX G 
LAND SUBDIVISION RULES 


1. PRELIMINARY PLAN: 


In seeking to subdivide land into building lots and 
to dedicate streets, alleys or other lanas for public 
use, the owner shall submit two copies of a prelim- 
inary sketch plan to the City Planning Commission 
before submission of final plan. The preliminary 
plan shall be at 100 feet to the inch, or larger scale, 
and shall show: 


(a) The location of property lines, buildings, water 
courses and other existing features. 

(b) The proposed location and width of existing 
streets, alleys, lots and building lines, and similar 
facts regarding property immediately adjacent. 

(c) The title under which the proposed subdivi- 
sion is to be recorded, with the name of the allotter. 

(d) The names of all adjoining subdivisions. 

(e) The location of existing sewers and water 
mains. 

(f) The Commission may require a contour map, 
showing contour intervals of not less than three (3) 
feet. The approval of the preliminary plan does not 
constitute an acceptance of the subdivision. 

(g) The use district or districts and the height 
and area district or districts in which the land to 
be subdivided falls according to the zoning ordinance. 


2. FINAL PLAN: 


The original and two copies of the final plan shall 
be submitted to the City Planning Commission. This 
plan shall be made from an accurate survey drawn 
on Imperial 22”x30”. 

The final plan shall show: 


(a) The title under which the subdivision is to 
be recorded, with the name of the allotter, the sell- 
‘ing agent, and the engineers or landscape architects 
responsible for the design. 

(b) The boundaries of the property; the lines of 
all proposed streets and alleys and any other por- 
tions intended to be dedicated to the public use. It 
shall also show the lines of all adjoining streets and 
alleys, with their names. 

(c) All lot lines shall be shown and lots and 
blocks numbered. Building lines and easements shall 
be shown and determined by measurements. All 
streets shall be named, and in the case of branching 
streets, the line of departure from one street to an- 
other shall be indicated. 

(d) All the necessary dimensions, both linear and 
angular, shall be shown. The linear dimensions shall 
be expressed in feet and decimals of a foot. The 
description and location of all monuments shall be 
shown. 

(e) Profiles shall be shown of all streets and al- 


leys (40 feet horizontal scale and six feet vertical 
scale recommended). Streets shall, in so far as pos- 
sible, conform to the contours to avoid grades in 
excess of three per cent. 

(f) The use district or districts and the height 
and area district or districts in which the land to 
be subdivided falls according to the zoning ordi- 
nance. 


3. ACRE SUBDIVISIONS: 


Where the parcel is subdivided into larger tracts 
than for building lots such parcels shall be divided 
so as to allow for the opening of major streets and 
the ultimate extension of adjacent minor streets. 


4. RELATION TO ADJOINING STREET SYSTEM: 


The arrangement of streets in a new subdivision 
shall make provision for the continuation of the 
principal existing streets in adjoining allotment (or 
their proper projection where adjoining property is 
not subdivided) in so far as they may be necessary 
for public requirements. In general, such streets 
shall be of a width at least as great as the existing 
streets, and in no case shall they be less than the 
minimum required below. The street and alley ar- 
rangement must also be such as to provide oppor- 
tunity for access and use by adjoining property own- 
ers. Streets that are continuous shall bear the same 
name throughout. 


5. STREET AND ALLEY WIDTHS: 


(a) The widths for major streets shall conform to 
the widths designated on the major street plan. 

(b) The minimum width for minor streets shall 
be fifty (50) feet, except that in cases where the 
topography or special conditions make a street of 
less width more practical, the City Planning Com- 
mission may waive the above requirement. When 
adjoining undeveloped property, a half street may 
be dedicated. 

(c) The minimum width of any alley shall be 
twenty (20) feet, except that where both sides abut 
residential property a fifteen (15) foot alley may be 
used, with an easement and building line on both 
sides of at least two and one-half (2%) feet and a 
five-foot cut-off at all acute corners. 

(d) Where alleys are not provided, easements of 
not less than four (4) feet in width shall be pro- 
vided on each side of all rear lot lines and side lines 
where necessary, for poles, wires, conduits, storm 
and sanitary sewers, gas, water and heat mains. 
Easements of greater width may be required along 
lines or across lots where necessary for the exten- 
sion of main sewers and similar utilities. 


fie 70a 


HY Ue aN ANE 


[ey Teh PCO) dae Ae 


6. BLOCKS: 


(a) No blocks shall be longer than one thousand 
(1,000) feet between street lines. Blocks over seven 
hundred fifty (750) feet in length shall have a cross 
walk not less than ten (10) feet in width, situated 
near the center of the block. 

(b) Where it is desired to subdivide a parcel of 
land which, because of size or location, does not 
permit an allotment directly related to a normal 
street arrangement, there may be established a 
“Place.” Such a place may be in the form of a 
court, a non-connecting street or other arrangement, 
provided, however, that proper access shall be given 
to all of the lots from a dedicated place (street or 
court), and the minimum size of each allotment shall 
be permanently established so as to assure a build- 
ing arrangement commensurate with the foregoing 
requirements for normal allotments. 

(c) In new subdivisions at a distance from prop- 
erty already platted, block widths shall be estab- 
lished at approximately two hundred and fifty (250) 
feet. 

1 WACOM ye 

(a) In all rectangular lots and, so far as possible, 
all other lots, the side lines shall be at right angles 
to the street on which the lot faces: Lots with dou- 
ble frontage shall be avoided. 

(b) Unless otherwise approved by the City Plan- 
ning Commission for particular and appropriate rea- 
sons, the minimum dimensions for lots shall be forty 
(40) feet for width and one hundred (100) feet for 
depth, and in no case shall a rectangular or irregu- 
larly shaped lot contain less than five thousand 
(5,000) square feet. 

(c) Corner lots shall have extra width, sufficient 
to permit the maintenance of adequate building lines 
on both front and side. In normal cases the width 
required will be not less than the amount of the 
established building line on the side street, plus the 
irreducible buildable width and side yard require- 
ments of lots as determined by the zoning ordinance. 

(d) Lots on major street intersections and at all 
other points likely to be dangerous shall have a 
radius of not less than 15 feet at the street corner. 


8. BUILDING LINES: 


Building lines shall be shown on all lots intended 
for residential use of any character, and they shall 
not be less than required by the zoning ordinance. 


9. GRADING OF STREETS: 


A grading plan shall be prepared and submitted 
to the City Planning Commission with the final plan, 
showing grades approved by the city engineer. Be- 
fore the final plat can be approved, the grading of 
all streets and alleys and other areas to be devoted 
to the public use shall be completed to approved 
grades or suitable bond given for compliance with 
this provision. The amount of the bond and the 
time limit allowed for the completion of grading 
shall be determined by the Board of City Commis- 
sioners. 


10. SEWERS AND WATER: 
No allotment or subdivision will be approved un- 


[ 172 ] 


less it is possible, without unreasonable delay, to 
supply proper water and sewerage facilities. 

When the proper outlet for sewers is available and 
the necessary sewers can be constructed by the 
owner, the work shall be done at once in accordance 


with plans approved by the City Planning Commis-— 


sion and under the supervision of the City Engineer- 
ing Department, and the sewers will be accepted as 
a part of the permanent sewer system of the city. 


11. PARKS, SCHOOL SITES, ETC.: 


In subdividing property, due consideration shall be 
given to the dedication of suitable sites for schools, 
parks and playgrounds. Such provision should be 
indicated on the preliminary plan in order that it 
may be determined when and in what manner such 
areas will be dedicated to the city. 


12. DEED OF DEDICATION: 


There shall be a deed of dedication conveying to 
the City of Memphis title to all property intended 


for public use, stated free and clear of all encum-— 


brances. Such deed of dedication shall include the 


following: 


(a) The conveyance of the fee. 

(b) A waiver of the claim for all damages occa- 
sioned by the establishment of grades as approved, 
or the alteration of the surface of any portion of the 
streets and alleys dedicated to conform to the grade 
so established. 

(c) A recital of the building line restrictions and 
the classification of the property under the Zoning 
Law. 

Building line restrictions for residential property 
shall provide that all enclosed portions of any and 
all buildings shall be set back from the street line 
a distance at least equal to the minimum required 
hereinbefore. 

Wherever property is subdivided with the inten- 
tion that it shall have a use higher than that desig- 
nated on the zone plan, such use shall be stated and 
the building lines and other rules affecting such 
higher use shall be shown and noted on the plat. 
Such designation shall also constitute a petition to 
the city to change the use designation for such 
property on the zone plan. 


13. CERTIFICATE OF TITLE: 


The final plat shall be accompanied by a certifi- 
cate of title showing the ownership of all property 
to be dedicated to the city. 


14. GENERAL: 


The Board of City Commissioners shall be the 
judge in all cases regarding the application of the 
above rules, and particularly where the extent of 
“necessary” public or private requirements is in 
question. 


Approved: 
(Signed) ROWLETT PAINE, 
Mayor. 
Attest: 
(Signed) 3¢: €; PASHBY, 
City Clerk. 


Ra gh Gepeper Gh WV 


Ci Mk AP NG a WARNING oT 


Na G 


COMM SMe LS S= le Oren 


INDEX 


Adams Avenue, 46. 

Adams, Fort, 18. 

Accomplishments in city planning, 6. 
Administrative agencies, co-operating, 139. 
Adoption of city plan, 139. 

Apartment house development, 123. 

Area districts, 125. 

Assessment districts in city planning, 141. 
Assumption, Fort, 18. 

Attractiveness of parks, 131. 

Auction Avenue, 48. 

Avalon Street, 51. 


Beale Avenue, 45. 

Bellevue Boulevard, 51. 

Benefit assessments in city planning, 141. 
Bill boards, 138. 

Board of Aldermen, first elected, 21. 
Board of Education and playgrounds, 100. 
Bond issues in city planning, 140. 

Bond issues of Memphis, 145. 

Bond retirement, 147. 

Bridge, first over river, 26. 

Broad Avenue, 47. 

Building lines on streets, 143. 

Busses in city development, 60. 

Butler Avenue, 45. 


Calhoun Avenue Yard, Frisco R. R., 64. 

Calhoun Avenue yard improvement, 71. 

Calhoun Street, 45. 

Carload freight terminal, river, 83. 

Carnes Avenue, 44. 

Carolina Avenue, 45. 

Carr Avenue, 45. 

Castex Street, 49. 

Castalia Street, 51. 

Central Avenue, 44. 

Central Police Building, 130. 

Central section of city, juvenile delinquency in, 96. 

Central section of city, recreation facilities in, 96. 

Central section, proposed recreation facilities of, 98. 

Characteristics of modern pleasure drives, 109. 

-Chelsea Avenue, 38. 

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 64. 

Chickasaw Indians, 17. 

Chickasaws, suggested monument to, 136. 

Chisea, 17. 

City forester, need of, 135. 

City limits, extension of, 143. 

City plan, adoption of, 139. 

City plan, execution of, 137. 

City plan, fundamental elements of, 11. 

City planning accomplishments, 6. 

City Planning Commission, constitution of, 137. 

City Planning Commission, duties and functions, 137, 
138. 

City planning, definition of, 11. 

City planning project bonds, 147. 

City planning studies proposed, 138. 

Civic art program, 131. 

Civie art, relationship to city plan, 129. 

Classification yards outside city, 76. 

Cleveland Street, 51. 


Colorado Avenue, 44. 

Commercial districts, 124. 

Community centers, 99. 

Community centers, definition of, 99. 
Condemnation, excess, 141. 

Cooper Street, 51. 

Cossitt Library bonds, 147. 

Cotton Belt (St. Louis Southwestern Ry Co.), 65. 
County-seat removed, 21. 

Court Avenue, 131. 

Court Avenue, pleasure drive system, 110. 
Crosstown streets, inadequacy of, 34. 

Crosstown traffic ways individually described, 42. 
Current revenues in city planning, 140. 


David Street, 51. 

Deadrick Avenue, 44. 

Decatur Street, 51. 

Decision regarding 
142. 

Deficiencies of existing legislation, 141. 

Deficiencies of existing recreation facilities, 96. 

Deficiencies of river transportation, 85. 

Delaware Street, 49. 

Design of neighborhood parks, 105. 

Design of pleasure drive system, 113. 

DeSoto, 17. 

Development of industrial districts, 90. 

Development of large parks, 108. 

Development of recreation facilities according 
plan, 118. 

Districts, apartment, 123. 

Dunn Avenue, 43. 

Dwelling types in Memphis, 128. 


Knoxville special assessments, 


to 


Harly park development, 93. 

Educational character of playground activities, 100. 

Effect of faulty streets, 36. 

Kiffects of proposed railroad changes, 69. 

Effect of zoning ordinance to date, 127. 

Efficiency apartments and zoning, 126. 

Hlevated freight line, 69. 

Elevated line along river, 76. 

Esperanza, Post, 18. 

Excess condemnation, 141. 

Exchange of freight stations, 
Frisco, 71. 

Existing civic art in Memphis, 129. 

Extension of city limits, 143. 


Missouri Pacific and 


Fair Grounds, 129. 

Fair Grounds as a recreation center, 104. 

Faxon Avenue, 48. 

Features of proposed pleasure drive system, 110. 
Ferdinand, Fort, 17. 

Financial stability of Memphis, 148. 

Financing improvements, 140. 

Finished products of Memphis, 89. 

First park board, 93. 

Fizer Avenue, 43. 

Florida Street, 41. 

Flood protection, 29. 

Forester, need of, 135. 

Formula for neighborhood park acquisition, 105. 


[173 ] 


Fal aN AS 


Re ee Oe Ree 


Forrest, Gen. Nathan Bedford, 24. 

Forrest Yard, Southern Railway, 65. 

Fort Adams, 18. 

Fort Assumption, 18. 

Fort Ferdinand, 17. 

Fort Pickering, 18. 

Fort Pike, 18. 

Fourth Street, 50. 

Freight classification, Illinois Central R. R., 63. 

Freight classification, Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
Reo: 

Freight house, Frisco R. R., 64. 

Freight house, Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 
IR, Rt (se 

Hreichin bee Co leestuays OLw2e 

Freight stations, convenience of, 74. 

Freight stations, Illinois Central R. R., 63. 

Freight stations, improvement of, 72. 

Freight station, Missouri Pacific R. R., 64. 

Freight station, Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 63. 

HrISCOn iver kien CSCCr pine lem on sen Lua Eun emscu 

Frisco Yard improvement, 75. 

Front Street, 41. 

Future river terminal requirements, 87. 

Future work of Planning Commission, 138. 


Gayoso Avenue, 45. 

Gayoso, Governor, 17. 

General provisions of zoning ordinance, 122. 
Georgia Avenue, 45. 

Government barge line, 28. 
Government, reorganization of city, 27. 
Government of city restored, 26. 
Grade crossing elimination, 79. 

Grade crossing, miscellaneous, 81. 
Grand Central Station, 80. 

Greenlaw Avenue, 48. 


Hanauer Street, 49. 

Harris, Ross W., 59. 

Harvard Yard, Frisco R. R., 64. 

Height and area district regulations summarized, 121. 
Height of buildings in Memphis, 124. 

High buildings injurious to community, 124. 

Holmes Avenue, 46. 

Home grounds, 136. 

Hulbert, Ark., terminal of Rock Island R. R., 64. 
Hulbert Yard, Rock Island R. R., 64. 


Illinois Central R. R., 63. 

Illinois Central R. R. grade crossing elimination, 80. 

Illinois Central track elevation along river, 76. 

Improvement of passenger terminals, 78. 

Improvement of Southern freight station, 72. 

Improvement plan for river front, 133. 

Indians, Chickasaw, 17. 

Industrial districts, 124. 

Information obtained in zoning, 118. 

Initiation of city planning work, 137. 

Indebtedness, outstanding, 145. 

Industrial districts, principles affecting develop- 
ment, 90. 

Industrial expansion, 88. 

Industries not represented in Memphis, 90. 

Interchange methods, 66, 76. 

Interurban bus routes, 61. 

Iowa Avenue, 44. 

Island, development of, for park purposes, 104. 


Jackson Avenue, 39. 
Jackson, Gen. Andrew, 18. 


[174 ] 


Jefferson Avenue, 46. 

Jitney, experiences with, 60. 

Jogs and offsets, 35. 

Joint use of tracks in Railroad Avenue, 77. 


Kansas City junction, 76. 

Keel Avenue, 48. 

Kerr Avenue, 44. 

Knoxville special improvement district, 142. 


Lamar Avenue, 39. 

Land subdivision, improper, 125. 

Land subdivision, poles and wires in, 135. 

Land subdivision principles, 55. 

Land values, 126. 

Lane Avenue, 46. 

Large park development, 108. 

Large parks, 107. 

Large parks proposed, 108. 

Latham Street, 50. 

Lauderdale Street, 40. 

Lawrence’s plan of city, 19. 

L. C, L. freight, special study of, 72. 

Leewood Yard, Louisville & Nashville R. R., 64. 

Legislation, deficiencies of, 141. 

Legislation proposed, 141. 

Lights, street, 133. 

Limitation of building heights, 124. 

Linden Avenue, 39. 

Location of recreation facilities, importance of, 94. 

Lot area requirements, 126. 

Louisville & Nashville R. R., 64. 

Louisville & Nashville R. R. grade crossing elimina- 
tion, 80. 

Louisiana Street, 49. 


McGehee Avenue, 43. 

McLean Boulevard, 51. 

McLemore Avenue, 44. 

Madison Avenue, 46. 

Main Street, 50. 

Main Street, signs, 135. 

Major streets, characteristics of, 53. 

Major streets, classification of, 37. 

Major street plan, general description of, 39. 

Major street plan, means of executing, 53. 

Major streets, types of, 53. 

Mallory Avenue, 43. 

Manassas Street, 51. 

Manufactured products of Mertehie 89. 

Maple Avenue, 48. 

Maps for zoning studies, 118. 

Materials, raw, required in Memphis, 89. 

May Street, 51. 

Memphis & Charleston R. R., 22. 

Memphis & LaGrange R. R., 22. 

Memphis, Battle of, 24. 

Memphis, bonded debt of, 145. 

Memphis, description of site, 19. 

Memphis, early names suggested, 19. 

Memphis Terminal Corporation, 29. 

Memphis, total wealth of, 148. 

Methods of financing improvements, 140. 

Mississippi Avenue, 40. 

Missouri Pacific and Frisco freight stations, ex- 
change of, 71. 


- Missouri Pacific Railroad Co., 64. 


Mobile & Ohio Railroad, 66. 

Monroe Avenue, 46. 

Moore, William R., Vocational School, 91. 
Monuments, 136. 


Gel ary 


Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis R. R., 65. 

Navy Yard established, 22. 

Neighborhood parks, 105. 

Neighborhood park acquisition in future, 105. 

Neighborhood park, definition of, 105. 

Neighborhood park design, 105. 

Neighborhood parks, existing, 105. 

Neighborhood parks, proposed, 105. 

Need of recreation, 94. 

Negro recreation centers proposed, 98. 

Neptune Street, 51. 

Non-conforming use map, 119. 

Nonconnah Yard, Illinois Central R. R., 63. 

Nonconnah Yard, Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 
63. 

North Yard, llinois Central R. R., 63. 

North Yard, Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 63. 


Objections to river transportation service, 85. 

Obstructions on sidewalks, 135. 

Operating methods, Illinois Central R. R., 63. 

Operating methods, Frisco R. R., 64. 

Operating methods, Missouri Pacific R. R., 64. 

Operating methods, Rock Island R. R., 64. 

Operating methods, St. Louis Southwestern Ry., 65. 

Operating methods, Southern Railway, 65. 

Operating methods, Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. 
Ia (Pa 

Operation and trackage, Union Railway, 64. 

Operation of zoning ordinance, 127. 

Ordinance, Memphis zoning, details of, 121. 

Origin of pleasure drive system, 111. 

Orleans Street, 50. 

Otey Street, 51. 

Overcrowding of land, 125. 

Overhanging signs, 135. 

Overton, Judge John, 19. 

Overton Park, 93, 107. 

Overton Park Avenue, 46. 

Oxford Avenue, 46. 


Package freight terminal, 83. 

Packet terminals, 86. 

Park Avenue, 44. 

Park bond issue, 145. 

Park department and playgrounds, 100. 

Park development and special assessments, 143. 
Parkway and zoning, 123. 

Peabody Avenue, 45. 

Pennsylvania Street, 50. 

Percentages of different property uses, 119. 
Person Avenue, 43. 

Personnel of Planning Commission, 5. 
Pickering, Fort, 18. 

Pike, Fort, 18. 

Pine Street, 51. 

Planning Commission personnel, 5. 

Planning for civic art, 130. 

Play fields, 102. 

Play fields, definition of, 102. 

Play facilities, existing, 104. 

Playground activities, educational character of, 100. 
Playground activities of park department, 100. 
Playground areas at public schools, 102. 
Playgrounds, 99. 

Playgrounds defined, 99. 

Playgrounds, proposed, 102. 

Pleasure drives, 109. 

Pleasure drives, characteristics of, 109. 
Pleasure drives in heart of city, 110. 

Pleasure drives, types of, 113. 


Ca OM Ma Mele Sao le OnmN 


Pleasure drive system, features of, proposed, 110. 

Pleasure drive system, importance of design, 113. 

Poles and wires, 135. 

Police power in zoning, 117. 

Policy proposed for pleasure drive development, 109. 

Policy recommended for playground development, 
100. 

Poplar Boulevard, 39. 

Popular support, need of, for city planning, 137. 

Porter Street, 51. 

Post Esperanza, 18. 

Preparation of zoning ordinance, 120. 

Private buildings, 132. 

Products, finished, shipped from Memphis, 89. 

Program of park and pleasure drive development, 
dos 

Projects recommended, 7. 

Proposed legislative improvements, 141. 

Proposed recreation facilities in central section, 98. 

Provision for growth under zoning, 120. 

Public buildings, 132. 

Public buildings in Memphis, 130. 


Radial streets, inadequate, 35. 

Radial streets, individually described, 38. 

Ragan Street, 51. 

Railroad Avenue grade crossings, 81. 

Railroad Avenue interference, 76. 

Railroad connections to river terminal, 83. 

Railroad facilities and operating methods, 63. 

Railroad facilities and operating methods, recom- 
mended changes, 67. 

Railroad, first into Memphis, 22. 

Railroad operation, problem of, 67. 

Railroad passenger stations, 78, 80. 

Railroad yards, miscellaneous improvements in, 77. 

Railroads serving Memphis, 68. 

Raleigh, county-seat, 21. 

Ramsey Grant, 19. 

Raw materials used in Memphis, 89. 

Rayburn Boulevard, 50. 

Realtors and pleasure drive development, 110. 

Recommended changes in railroad facilities and oper- 
ating methods, 67. 

Recreation centers proposed, 98. 

Recreation facilities, deficiencies of existing, 96. 

Recreation facilities for Memphis, proposed system. 
96. 

Recreation facilities in central section, 96. 

Recreation facilities, types of, 14. 

Recreation park on island, 104. 

Regulation of private property by zoning, 117. 

Responsibility for children’s playgrounds, 100. 

Responsibility for execution of city plan, 138. 

Rice. John, grant of, 18. 

River front appearance, 132. 

River front track e’evation, 76. 

Riverside Boulevard, 49. 

Riverside Park, 93, 107. 

River terminals, future requirements, 87. 

River-to-rail terminal (carload freight), 84. 

River-to-rail terminal (package freight), 83. 

River transportation, 83. 

River transportation, present deficiencies, 85. 

Roadway design, 54. 

Rules for development of industrial districts, 91. 


Sargent Yard improvement, 76. 

Sargent Yard, Missouri Pacific R. R., 64. 
Sargent Yard replacement, 76. 

School architecture, 132. 

Schools as community centers, 99. 


[ 175 ] 


BF OISNSAT i 


Re SP Osha 


Schools which should have playgrounds, 102. 

Second Street, 38. 

Seventh Street, 40. 

Shelby, Col. Isaac, 18. 

Shelby County Court House, 130. 

Shelby County Court House bonds, 147. 

Shelby County, establishment of, 19. 

Sidewalks, abuse of, 135. 

Signs on Main Street, 135. 

Sledge Avenue, 44. 

Somerville Street, 39, 51. 

Southern Avenue, 44. 

Southern freight station, improvement of, 72. 

Southern Railway Co., 65. 

Southern Railway grade crossing elimination, 81. 

South yard, Illinois Central R. R., 68. 

South yard, Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 63. 

Special assessments in Memphis, 142. 

Spottswood Street, 51. 

Springdale Street, 51. 

St. Francis Basin, 27. 

St. Louis & San Francisco R. R., 64. 

St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. grade crossing elim- 
ination, 82. 

St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co. (Cotton Belt), 
65. 

St. Paul Avenue, 45. 

Street improvements and L. C. L. freight movement, 
oe 

Street trees, 135. 

Streets and pleasure drives, co-ordination 7f, 53. 

Streets, parallel to Parkway, 58. 

Street system, faults of, 34. 

Streets, types of, 11. 

Street width, unsystematic, 35. 

Study maps in zoning, 118. 

Subdivisions, approval of plans required, 143. 

Suburban and interurban service, 61. 

Summary, duties and functions of Planning Commis- 
sion, 139. 

Summary of zoning ordinance, 121. 

Summer Avenue, 47. 

Supreme Court decision affecting Knoxville, 142. 

System of recreation facilities, 94. 

System of recreation facilities, features of, 94. 

System of recreation facilities for Memphis, 96. 

System, lack of, in streets, 34. 


Taxing district, creation of, 24. 

Tennessee, admission asa state, 17. 

Terminal of Rock Island R. R., 64. 

Terminal for carload freight, river-to-rail, 84. 
Terminals, packet, 86, 87. 

Third Street, 50. 

Thomas Street, 40. 

Tracks in Railroad Avenue, joint use of, 77. 
Tracks in Railroad Avenue, rearrangement of, 77. 
Traffic circle, plan proposed, 131. 

Traffic for barge lines, present and prospective, 85. 
Traffic, Illinois Central R. R., 63. 

Traffic, Louisville & Nashville R. R., 64. 


[ 176 ] 


Traffic, Missouri Pacific R. R., 64. 

Traffic, Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis R. R., 65. 
Traffic, Rock Island R. R., 64. 

Traffic, Southern Railway, 65. 

Traffic, St. Louis & San Francisco R. R., 64. 
Traffic, St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co., 65. 
Traffic, Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 63. 
Trails into early Memphis, 19. 

Transit and city growth, 61. 

Transit extensions, 60. 

Transit facilities, types of, 12. 

Transit recommendations, 60. 

Transportation facilities, classes of traffic using, 13. 
Transportation, river, 83. 

Tree planting, 135. 

Trigg Avenue, 44. 

Tri-State Fair, 30. 

Tri-State Fair Grounds bond issue, 145. 

Tutwiler Avenue, 48. 

Two-family dwellings, 126. 

Types of pleasure drives, 113. 


Unification of transportation facilities, 77. 

Union Avenue, 39. 

Union Railway, 64. 

Union Railway grade crossing elimination, 80, 81. 
Union Station, 80. 

Use districts analyzed, 123. 

Use district regulations summarized, 121. 
Usefulness of recreation facilities, 94. 

Uses of property in city, percentages, 119. 


Vance Avenue, 45. 
Vocational schools, 91. 
Vollentine Avenue, 48. 


Walker Avenue, 44. 

Walnut Street, 51. 

Washington Avenue, 46. 

Wealth of Memphis, 148. 

Wharf, description of, 87. 

Willett Street, 51. 

Work of Planning Commission in future, 138. 


Yale Yard, Frisco R. R., 64. ey 

Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 63. Fi 
Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. grade crossing elim- : 
ination, 82. ' 
Young Avenue, 44. | 
4 


Zoning and jand values, 126. 

Zoning in Memphis, 117. 

Zoning maps, 118. 

Zoning on the Parkway, 128. 

Zoning ordinance, details of, 121. 

Zoning ordinance, general provisions, 122. 


Zoning ordinance in operation, 127. ' 
Zoning ordinance, preparation of, 120. i 
Zoning ordinance, provision for growth, 120. t 


Zoning principles, 117. 


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